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Swiss Pioneers

By Marine Balaresque

story by Marine Balaresque | photos by Anthony Pecchi | October 13, 2015

Published on: October 13, 2015
Estimated reading time 11 minutes, 38 seconds.

From heli-skiing and tourism flights, to pioneering rescue techniques for the highest places on earth, Air Zermatt has developed an international reputation from its picturesque home in the heart of the Swiss Alps.
Founded in 1968, Air Zermatt, which is based at the center of the Pennine Alps and at the foot of the Matterhorn, operates a fleet of nine helicopters. The fleet includes the Airbus Helicopters H130 (foreground) and H125, which are utilized for everything from sightseeing flights to aerial construction.
Zermatt, an internationally renowned ski and mountaineering resort, lies at the center of the Pennine Alps and at the foot of the Matterhorn, one of the highest summits in Europe. The first ascent of the 14,692-foot (4,478-meter) mountain in 1865 marked the beginning of the touristic development of the village of Zermatt, which today welcomes an estimated three million visitors each year. Reaching the Matterhorn’s summit requires the completion of a technically challenging climb, and while 3,500 mountaineers are now successful each year, over 500 have died in the attempt over the past 150 years.
Air Zermatt operates a fleet of five AS350 B3s, which have proven to be ideally suited for Swiss conditions.
To provide a means to rapidly reach those that found themselves in trouble, a heliport was created in Zermatt in 1968 — and Air Zermatt was born. In its early days, the operator’s fleet consisted of a Bell 206 and an Aérospatiale Alouette III equipped with a winch for rescues in the nearby mountains.
With a newly EASA-certified external hook, the H130 demonstrates its versatility by performing a full range of aerial work assignments.
Nowadays, Air Zermatt has nine helicopters (four are based in Zermatt), flown by a team of about 10 pilots (five of whom are contract employees), and about 15 mechanics, who ensure the continuous operation of the fleet. The latest addition to the Air Zermatt family was an Airbus Helicopters H130, which joined the fleet in April 2015. Gerold Biner, CEO of Air Zermatt, calls the new aircraft “the machine of the future,” and its main tasks for the company include panoramic flights, air taxi and heli-skiing. It is particularly well adapted to the transport of passengers (carrying up to seven), but is also suitable for air medical transport and the carriage of external loads.
With a spacious cabin, the H130 is well-suited for tourism-type operations.
Peter Zurniwen, who flies the H130 for Air Zermatt, said the aircraft’s left-seat pilot position requires a certain “adaptation period,” but added that its stability in flight is particularly enjoyable.
In comparison to its predecessor, the EC130 B4, the H130 is equipped with a Turbomeca Arriel 2D engine, which offers an increase in power while decreasing its fuel consumption. It also has an upgraded gearbox, an improved environmental control system, and active vibration control —which reduces pilot fatigue and allows the aircraft’s passengers to “feel like they’re in a bus for a VIP,” said Biner.
Air Zermatt feels that given the H130’s improved capabilities over the EC130 B4, it is the “machine of the future” for the company.
Air Zermatt is characterized by its versatility, a quality that’s reflected in its machines. According to Biner, it takes between only three to five minutes to transform the H130 from a VIP to an emergency medical services (EMS) configuration. However, the operator’s twin-engine machines — a Bell 429 and an Airbus Helicopters H135 — are the ones mostly used for rescue operations, and these can be extraordinarily frequent. Depending on the season, Air Zermatt can make up to 24 rescues a day.
In 2012, Air Zermatt was the first operator in Europe to take delivery of the Bell 429, which is utilized for emergency medical services and search-and-rescue operations.
For its part, the Bell 429, which can carry up to seven passengers, has completed about 2,000 rescue flights in the past two and a half years, including 1,000 with the winch. It carries various medical equipment and is in service 24/7 on the Zermatt heliport, which ensures a rescue service for the resort every day of the year. It also works in partnership with the local mountain rescue organization (Organisation Cantonale Valaisanne de Secours), the fire department, the ambulance service and the civil security.’
The Bell 429 is a pilot’s dream to fly, as it has significantly reduced the pilot workload thanks to its modern cockpit. To date, the 429 has been used on close to 2,000 rescue missions by Air Zermatt.
The missions intensify from mid-June to mid-September with the opening of the cabins, a time which represents the high season for the airline. Nonetheless, with 20,000 skiers a day in the resort during the winter, Air Zermatt is certainly kept busy year-round.
Always a New Challenge
Performing rescues in the high mountains — in often challenging and variable weather conditions, while close to cables or rock walls — requires a supreme mental strength as well as exceptional technical ability. “You never know what will happen when you fly out, and each rescue operation is different,” said Daniel Aufdenblatten, who has been a pilot at Air Zermatt for more than 10 years. He said the performance of the machine at high altitudes was the most important consideration for the pilots.
Finding itself conducting challenging mountain rescues at times, Air Zermatt says that the Bell 429 is well-suited for some of the high altitude rescue missions that the company carries out, which can be conducted at altitudes of up to 15,000 feet.
While the H130 may need to be used for mountain rescue this winter, it’s currently utilized in a heli-tourism role, taking visitors on a 30-minute tour around the Matterhorn. During the panoramic flights, the passengers can admire the peak from all angles, enjoy the proximity of the impressive mountain massifs, or simply be amazed by the scale the glaciers.
While the H130 may be used for mountain rescue this winter, it’s currently utilized mostly in a heli-tourism role, taking visitors on a 30-minute tour around the Matterhorn. During the panoramic flights, the passengers can admire the peak from all angles, enjoy the scale of the proximity of the impressive mountain massifs, or simply be amazed by the scale the glaciers.
Heli-skiing is also one of the tasks of the H130, with several packages offered by the operator. Tourists can also order the aircraft as an air taxi (the base services about 15 destinations). Finally, the operator is also training in long line work with the aircraft, so as to take full advantage of its versatility.
In the meantime, Air Zermatt usually completes missions that require long line work with the H125. For these operations, the crew includes a pilot and two assistants, and the aircraft can carry a load of up to 1,300 kilograms (2,865 pounds) on the end of the line. The Zermatt base conducts about 7,000 lifting rotations a year.
Air Zermatt operates in some of the most challenging conditions that helicopters can face.
In 2010, the Air Zermatt team joined up with mountain rescue operators in India and Nepal to share their experience with local pilots. The team spent two months with their Indian and Nepalese counterparts, sharing their knowledge on rescue operations with the H125, and in flight at altitude. During their time in Nepal, Aufdenblatten and Richard Lehner, a mountain and rescue specialist, carried out what was, at that point, the highest-ever long line mountain rescue (23,000 feet/7,000 meters), saving the lives of one Romanian and two Spanish climbers. The rescue took three attempts, one of which was terminated after Lehner suffered a lack of oxygen while suspended on the rescue line during the 10-minute flight to the accident site. The pair later received a prestigious aviation award for the rescue.
With the ability to lift 2,865 pounds, the AS350 B3s carry out the majority of the aerial utility work in the Swiss Alps.
Air Zermatt’s cross-training efforts continue each year in Nepal, roughly from April to June, when a team is sent to work with Nepalese pilots on high mountain operations and rescue techniques.
Whether it’s the high peaks of the Alps or the Himalayas, Air Zermatt continues to use its pioneering work to allow visitors to enjoy some of the highest places on earth — and get home safely.

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