Episode 638: The Crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

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Jan 20, 2025

A chilling tale unfolds as forty-five passengers, including a rugby team, face a harrowing crash in the Andes. The emotional aftermath leads to desperate survival strategies and moral dilemmas, with cannibalism becoming a matter of life and death. Through sub-zero temperatures and relentless hardship, survivors demonstrate extraordinary resilience. As they grapple with trauma, their selfless acts and strong bonds shine through, showcasing the depths of human endurance and the will to survive against all odds.

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ANECDOTE

Initial Trip to Chile

The Old Christians Club, an amateur Uruguayan rugby team, chartered a plane to Chile for a championship game in 1971.
Their initial trip, though unsuccessful in winning, sparked enthusiasm for another trip the following year.

ANECDOTE

Troubled Journey

Despite losing their qualifying game, the team planned a return trip to Chile in 1972, facing financial and logistical challenges.
Delays, a missed flight, and poor weather conditions plagued their journey from the start.

ANECDOTE

The Crash

Facing an international incident due to time restrictions in Argentina, the pilots chose to fly despite bad weather.
The plane crashed into the Andes after encountering severe turbulence and hitting the mountainside.

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On October 13, 1972, a chartered aircraft carrying forty-five passengers, including 19 members of the Old Christians’ Club rugby team, departed from Montevideo, Uruguay bound for Santiago, Chile. About an hour into the flight, the copilot incorrectly believed the plane had gotten off course and requested permission from air traffic control in Santiago to begin his descent and course correct. However, when the plane began descending out of the cloud cover, the copilot realized he’d been wrong about their position and were in fact dangerous close to the Andes mountains. The pilots attempted to pull the plane back up, but they were unsuccessful and the crashed directly into the mountain.

Ultimately, sixteen of the forty-five passengers survived the crash of flight 571, spending seventy-two days in an isolated, untraveled part of the Andes. They endured extremely harsh conditions including sub-zero temperatures, exposure to freezing wind, and most significantly, starvation. The survivors were eventually rescued after two passengers hiked three days out of the mountains, using only materials from the wreckage to aid in the trek, where they eventually found help.

In the years since the crash, the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 has become one of the most famous tales of survival and human endurance.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Associated Press. 1972. "16 survive 2 months in Andes after crash." Boston Globe, December 23: 2.

—. 1972. "Crash survivors resorted to cannibalism." Boston Globe, December 27: 2.

—. 1972. "16 Air crash survivors found after 69 days in icy Andes." Los Angeles Times, December 23: 1.

Benales, Carlos. 1972. "Andes survivors solved problem of food, shelter." Chicago Tribune, December 31: 9.

Campbell, Matthew. 2022. "Fifty years on, 'Alive' team say eating flesh was awful but they got used to it." Sunday Times, October 16.

Godfrey, Chris. 2023. "My plane crashed in the Andes. Only the unthinkable kept me and the other starving survivirs alive." The Guardian, December 4.

Lilliston, Lynn. 1974. "Andes crash survivors tell their story." Los Angeles Times, May 5: 179.

Read, Piers Paul. 1974. Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. New York, NY: J.B. Lippincott Company.

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