On October 31, at 06:45 in the morning, I was sitting comfortably at our dining table eating my breakfast, when I received a call that would change the entire day. The team from the Hospital in Mandritsara asked if we could to a Medevac flight to the far north-east of Madagascar, because a man had been severely injured by bandits and time was of the essence.

Imagine living in a house high up in the trees – as high as a fourteen-story building! That’s exactly what the Korowai people, an indigenous tribe from Papua, do. They build their homes on tree trunks, often 131 feet above the ground. But why do they do that?

"That's a 20° incline!" exclaims Herten who is accompanying me on this flight to inspect the airstrip. He looks with concern at the inclinometer which shows the runway’s angle. Addressing the villagers of Beledomon, he says in Indonesian "Yes – there’s still some work to be done here", and to me in English, he adds: "A Cessna will never be able to land here; at best, a Pilatus Porter."

The helicopter flight from Switzerland to Tanzania in 1989 had special significance for me. My youngest son had completed his training as a helicopter pilot in the USA and accompanied me now as a junior pilot. This gave me the opportunity to share with him many valuable experiences of flying helicopters.

In February 2026, the Swiss foundation Helimission’s humanitarian work was severely tested. After the devastating Cyclone FYTIA, authorities and aid organizations were confronted with massive damage in various regions of the island nation. An exemplary collaboration ensued between the government and the non-governmental organization (NGO) to provide the fastest possible relief.

Over summer break, my kids and I passed out invitations to the families with our neighborhood complex for a hangar tour. What a wonderful event!

In 2003, Sammy joined the Helimission team here in Wamena. In 2008 he started training as an apprentice helicopter mechanic in our hangar. Over the years, many people invested in Sammy helping him develop his helicopter maintenance skills.

Every two years, our helicopters have to undergo major maintenance as required by the manufacturer. This work on the “Mike-Kilo-Tango” (5R-MKT) kept us busy for an entire month. It is necessary to carry out the tasks and procedures specified by the manufacturer. This includes the removal and installation of parts that need to be thoroughly inspected or replaced, because their service life has expired.

On November 3, Typhoon Tino raged across the Philippines. No sooner had people recovered from the severe earthquake in October than they found themselves facing yet another catastrophic natural disaster.

We received a message in Wamena that a woman in the remote jungle of Papua, Indonesia, had given birth to a baby but the placenta was still in her womb. We immediately prepared to pick up the mother by helicopter and fly her to the city hospital in Wamena for better medical care.

A long, long time ago, Madagascar was not only an island full of lemurs and baobab trees but also a secret hideout for pirates! These fearless seafarers, famous for their adventures across the world’s oceans, sought refuge on Madagascar from their pursuers and celebrated their victories there.

The seniors’ trip organized by the Pentecostal Church Herisau, recently took us to Trogen where we visited Helimission headquarters. After a warm welcome, we were able to visit the office where the crew coordinates and organizes this far-reaching and important work.

One of our helicopters (PK-HCR) was due for a routine inspection. This includes removing the main gearbox’s oil filter, then inspecting, cleaning and reinstalling it. Unfortunately, during the inspection phase I found contamination in the filter that was very concerning.

I had been asked to take four church workers from the south of Cameroon near to the border with Congo-Brazzaville. Since this was an area where there were occasional skirmishes caused by rebels from the Congo, it was under military control.

A baobab can grow up to 30 meters tall and has a trunk so thick that 20 children could not wrap their arms around it. Some of these trees are over 1,000 years old – some even older. But what makes this tree so remarkable?

At the end of the dry season this year, the Malagasy once again were quick to burn down their already rare rainforest, so that even in the capital of Antananarivo, we often sit in the midst of heavy smoke from the slash and burn farming.

Sunday morning at 6:30 I received a call to conduct a medical evacuation in the tropical rainforest.

people from all over the valley were on their way to the village, armed, threatening the workers, and planning to set fire to the hospital – their own future hospital! Apparently, the Indonesian workers had hired some villagers to help with the construction. One of them fell ill and died within a very short time.

After the communist regime was overthrown in Albania the country was opened up and we had the opportunity to fly countless operations with our Jet Ranger in the mountains. The level of poverty was beyond description and there was great hunger. Albania was considered one of the poorest countries in Europe.

Sahateza is a village of new settlers from the jungle of the Marolambo region, located just half an hour’s flight southeast of the capital, Antananarivo. An elderly couple have given these settlers access to their extensive land. In return, the villagers are honoring them by building them a house.