Hermann Geiger

Hermann Geiger was a Swiss aviator and search and rescue pilot whose heroic actions gave him national hero status in Switzerland. Known as "The Glacier Pilot," he pioneered the art of landing his Piper PA-18 on glaciers in the Swiss Alps like no other. In over 600 rescue missions, he managed to land his specially modified aircraft under extreme conditions on snow-covered glaciers. He often had to carry the injured people by himself in subzero temperatures and blizzard conditions to get them safely aboard his plane. Geiger once said, "To save lives, you must risk your own". He died from injuries suffered in a fatal collision with a glider at the age of 52. In aviation history, Geiger is the first man to successfully land on a glacier and one of the first mountain rescuers.