The true story behind Netflix's cannibal movie 'Society of the Snow,' and Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

• "Society of the Snow" revolves around the survivors of a plane crash in the Andes in 1972.
• The passengers are forced to resort to cannibalism to stay alive in a remote mountain range.
• Here's what you need to know about the real-life story the Netflix movie is based on.

Directed by "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" filmmaker J.A. Bayona, Netflix's new movie "Society of the Snow" follows the survivors of a horrific plane crash in a remote mountain range in the 1970s. The passengers have to resort to cannibalism to stay alive for months as the authorities struggle to find them.

The Spanish thriller is based on Pablo Vierci's book, "Society of the Snow," in which the author spoke to the remaining survivors of the crash.

While the story has been adapted for the big screen before, with Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton starring in the 1993 Hollywood movie "Alive," Bayona chose to cast Argentine and Uruguayan actors for the Spanish-language film.

"Society of the Snow" follows the events of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which is traveling from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, when it crashes in the Andes mountains.

Here's what you need to know about the true story.

What happened to Flight 571 in 'Society of the Snow?'

Flight 571 took off from Montevideo on October 13, 1972, per The New York Times, with 45 passengers and crew on board. The plane was chartered to take the Old Christians Club rugby team to Chile ahead of a match against a Chilean team, the Old Boys Club.

While flying over the Andes mountains, the pilots relied on radio navigation, also known as dead reckoning, to keep them in the right direction due to heavy clouds, according to Wired.

As detailed in a 7News documentary in 2021, the plane's co-pilot, Lieutenant-Colonel Dante Héctor Lagurara, thought the plane was already flying over Chile and started his descent to Santiago, not realizing they were still in the Andes.

Appearing in an ABC News documentary about the incident last year, survivor Roberto Canessa recalled seeing the mountain range through the clouds as the plane descended.

Canessa also told National Geographic the pilots sharply pulled the plane up vertically to the point that it stalled but still hit the mountain range.

The plane lost its wings and tail section in the initial crash, while the rest of the aircraft slid down the side of a mountain before stopping.

Did the survivors of Flight 571 resort to cannibalism?

Because the plane only had limited supplies on board, "Society of the Snow" features some gruesome scenes of the survivors eventually eating the corpses of passengers who died in the initial crash.

One survivor, Nando Parrado, played by Agustín Pardella in the film, spoke to the Guardian in December about the experience, and how the group decided to eat the flesh of the dead passengers.

"I didn't have any doubts. I had arrived at the conclusion of my thoughts very clearly. No doubt. This is the only way out," he said. "Not knowing when you're going to eat again is the worst fear of a human being. The most primal fear."

Parrado said most of the group agreed with the harrowing decision, but some refused. However, they changed their minds once the survivors heard a radio broadcast that the search for the plane had been called off after 10 days, per ABC News.

Parrado said: "Everybody in that situation … you would have arrived at the same thought. And it's easier than you think."

Parrado also recalled that some of the survivors told each other to use their bodies for food if they died.

"We shook our hands, and we say, 'If I die, please use my body. So at least you can get out of here. And tell my family how much I love them,'" he said.