Hermann Geiger (pilot)

Hermann Geiger releasing a young ibex in the Engadin or Tyrol area, after being transported in the HB-XAU helicopter, probably in 1958

Hermann Geiger (born October 27, 1914 in Savièse ; † August 26, 1966 in Sion ) was a Valais rescue pilot of world renown and pioneer of glacier flights (glacier pilot). He was the inventor of a landing technique for snow slopes to rescue mountaineers in distress. In 1952 he was one of the founders of the Swiss Air Rescue Service (Rega).

Live and act

Glacier aviation

Swiss glacier aviation started with the unsuccessful landing of pilot André Zehr with his Piper on the Dôme du Goûter glacier on October 5, 1951. He and his comrade tried to land as high up as possible on the Mont Blanc massif . A member of the rescue team was Hermann Geiger, who carried spare parts for the rudder and a new wooden propeller in his backpack up the mountain on foot so that the plane could successfully take off from the glacier.

From 1951, Hermann Geiger carried out transport flights with his Piper PA-18 on the initiative of Ulrich Imboden to the Rothornhütte at 3,198  m above sea level. M. and to the Mutthornhütte at 2901  m above sea level. M. through. The goods were packaged accordingly and dropped precisely. Next to the Mutthornhütte on the Kanderfirn (Alpetli Glacier) at an altitude of 2900  m above sea level. M. then Hermann Geiger carried out the first successful glacier landing in 1952.

Rescue Aviation

Hermann Geiger carried out over 600 rescue missions in the high mountains with his single-engine Piper PA-18 , and from 1957 also with a helicopter. In total, he flew around 2,000 rescue operations. He undertook further flights to supply mountain huts or with a self-constructed drop device for wild animals starving in severe winters . Geiger was also a member of the Winterthur glider group . In 1966 he had a fatal accident when he and a student pilot collided with a glider while landing .

Film and book

In 1958 he played himself in the semi-documentary Swiss film SOS - Gletscherpilot (director: Victor Vicas ). In 1961, a book he had written was published in the German Book Community with the title Der Gletscherflieger , in which he describes his life and flight experiences.

Awards

• 1959: Order of St. Gregory the Knightly Order presented by Nuncio Testa , awarded by Pope Johannes XXIII.

Web links

• Literature by and about Hermann Geiger in the catalog of the German National Library
• Andrea Weibel: Geiger, Hermann. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• The private rescuers Fredy Wissel and Hermann Geiger. On a private website about glacier and mountain aviation

Individual evidence

1. ↑ In the footsteps of Hermann Geiger (YouTube video clip), accessed on October 23, 2016
2. ↑ Alois Grichting and Olivier Imboden: 75 years Ulrich Imboden AG . Self-published, Visp 2010.
3. ↑ Maurice Zermatten: How Hermann Geiger became a glacier pilot . Fontana Verlag, Zurich 1957.
4. ↑ Hans Reis: The "Eagle of Sion". In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung from August 22, 2016.
5. ↑ Film about the life of H. Geiger ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 30, 2013.