10 People Who Survived the Unsurvivable and 10 Who Rushed Straight Into Disaster

Juliane Koepcke was 17 years old when her plane broke apart over the Peruvian rainforest in 1971, causing her to fall into the void while still strapped into her seat. She survived the crash and then trekked through the Amazon for 11 days before finding help. 

Aron Ralston’s survival was neither graceful nor cinematic at the time. Trapped alone in Bluejohn Canyon, Utah, in 2003, he eventually had to amputate his own arm to free himself from a boulder that had been pinning him down for several days. 

Vesna Vulović survived an accident that would normally have been fatal. After the explosion of JAT Flight 367 in 1972, she survived a fall of more than 9,000 meters and subsequently relearned how to walk. 

Nando Parrado survived the 1972 Andes plane crash, and everything that followed: the cold, hunger, grief, and the long wait for rescue. Eventually, he and Roberto Canessa managed to make their way down from the mountains to seek help for the others. 

José Salvador Alvarenga drifted across the Pacific for more than a year after a fishing trip went wrong. When he finally washed ashore in the Marshall Islands in 2014, his story seemed too incredible to be true. 

During World War II, Poon Lim survived for 133 days, alone on a raft in the South Atlantic. He fished, collected rainwater, and kept himself alive through a patience that seems almost superhuman. 

Violet Jessop had the most extraordinary career in maritime history. She survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the sinking of the Britannic in 1916, and was also aboard the Olympic when it collided with a warship. 

During the 1996 Everest disaster, Beck Weathers was left for dead, half-frozen and on the brink of death. But he pulled himself together, made his way back to camp on foot, and became one of the most incredible examples of survival on that mountain. 

Photograph created by Jack and Beverly Wilgus based on a daguerreotype originally from their collection, now held at the Warren Anatomical Museum, Center for the History of Medicine, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Enlarged using Waifu2x and retouched by Joe Haythornthwaite (see notes on the talk page). on Wikimedia

Phineas Gage survived after an iron rod pierced his skull during a railroad accident in 1848. His survival was shocking enough on its own, but the way his personality reportedly changed afterward made his case famous in the field of brain science.

Mauro Prosperi got lost during the 1994 Marathon des Sables and disappeared in the Sahara. He survived for several days in the extreme conditions of the desert before being found far from the race course.

Some people survive because they react perfectly at the worst possible moment. Others walk straight into danger even as warnings are already ringing in the background. Here are 10 people who headed straight for disaster.

Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole in 1912, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had beaten him to it. His team perished on the return journey, turning this quest into one of the most harrowing tragedies in the history of exploration.

Sir John Franklin led an expedition to the Arctic in 1845 with ships built to impress and provisions intended to last. Both ships became trapped in the ice, and all 129 men perished.

George Mallory continued his ascent of Everest at a time when the mountain was still more myth than reality. In 1924, he and Andrew Irvine disappeared somewhere near the summit, leaving behind one of the most haunting questions in the history of mountaineering: Did they reach the summit before the mountain claimed them?

Amelia Earhart was already a legend when she set out on her round-the-world flight. In 1937, she disappeared near Howland Island, turning an already daring flight into one of the most enduring mysteries in aviation history.

Donald Crowhurst set out on a solo round-the-world sailing race in a boat that was not ready to tackle such a challenge. His journey ended in deception, isolation, and his disappearance at sea. 

Chris McCandless ventured deep into the Alaskan wilderness in search of freedom, purity, and a life stripped down to its bare essentials. He was later found dead in the abandoned bus where he had been living, and his story continues to evoke mixed feelings—ranging from admiration to frustration and grief.  

Timothy Treadwell spent years living among Alaska’s brown bears, filming them and advocating for their protection. In 2003, he and Amie Huguenard were killed by a bear in Katmai National Park. 

In 2018, John Allen Chau illegally traveled to North Sentinel Island in the hope of making contact with the isolated Sentinelese people. Yet he had been warned against going there, as the Sentinelese had made it clear—through force—where their boundaries lay.

Percy Fawcett ventured deep into the Amazon in 1925, searching for a lost city he called “Z.” He disappeared along with his son and another companion, leaving behind a mystery that the jungle has never fully revealed. 

In 1934, Maurice Wilson attempted a solo climb of Everest, driven by his faith, fasting, and the conviction that willpower could overcome a lack of preparation. The mountain had other ideas, and his body was found the following year.