December 23rd - Rescue of Andes Flight Disaster

On this day, in 1972, the remaining sixteen survivors of an air crash in the Andes were rescued. The group had survived for 73 days after the crash by using positive affirmations and eating the dead. It was a Yin and Yang thing.

The flight was chartered to carry 45 rugby players and associated staff to a rugby, but on Friday the 13th of October the plane crashed into the Andes, which are pretty big so someone should have seen them coming.

The crash is described as a "controlled flight into terrain," which is where an airworthy plane flies into an obstacle such as a mountain. This type of crash is also known as a "suprise landing." The obstacle the plane flies into is called the "pilot's fancy."

One quarter of those on board died on impact. Several survivors of the impact lasted only a couple of days before changing their minds and dying. Things were grim but they were soon to get better, or perhaps worse. More of the 29 survivors were killed by an avalanche that avalanched through the shanty town built from the plane wreckage. Since this event the local council has imposed strict regulations regarding the construction of shanty towns from aircraft wreckage. Approval times range from three to six months so apply now to be ready for crashes in the new year.

The survivors were not equipped with any supplies of food and water, but they did have a good supply of tackle bags so they kept their game up. They heard radio reports that the search for the crash had been called off. This fact in combination with the prospect of starvation lead the group to a difficult decision. Does human flesh taste better with tomato sauce or mustard?

The dead passengers were preserved in the snow and the coach just happened to have a pig spit in his carry-on baggage. Unfortunately, it was meant to be.

Knowing that a rescue wasn't coming the group decided to launch a trek out of the mountains. The fittest men were chosen and given the most rations and were taken off the manual labour duties that kept the poorly-built shanty town from falling over and killing everyone in the cold, cold night. They waited for spring and set off.

On their first attempt they came across the tail section of the plane and discovered some batteries that might be used to power the plane's radio, or to charge an iPod. The batteries were too heavy to carry back to the fuselage so they returned to the plane and brought the radio and MP3 player to the batteries. A lot of time was spent trying to get the system operating but it was fruitless because the DC batteries would never work with the AC radio, and the iPod didn't have any good songs.

From this expedition, the men learnt they needed protection from the cold at night. They constructed a sleeping bag from the aircraft's insulation. It was big enough for three men. One survivor suggested building a queen-sized bed. He was killed and eaten.

The three men again set out to climb the mountain between them and civilisation. They made it to the top and discovered they were surrounded by mountains as far as the eye could see. At this moment, one of the men exclaimed "At least we aren't carrying a queen-sized bed." He was sent back to the crash site immediately. Presumably, upon arrival, he was killed and eaten.

The remaining two men continued their march and finally reached civilisation over a week later. They found a local Chilean man who helped them and sent word of the other crash survivors.

The survivors at the crash site were rescued 73 days after the crash. This proves that positive affirmations and mustard are essential in a survival situation.