Hans Coppetti (1935–1989) was a prominent figure in the industrial and public life of the Canton of Glarus. Many remember his name primarily in connection with the historic company Netstal Maschinen AG, of which he was director for many years.
A passionate pilot, he obtained licenses to fly both airplanes and helicopters. In 1972, he founded the helicopter transport company Linth Helikopter AG.

Hans Coppetti was born on June 4, 1935, in Wollishofen/ZH, a district of Zurich located on the shores of Lake Zurich. 
His father, Emilio Coppetti, was an entrepreneur and held a doctorate in economics, with particular expertise in the banking sector.
In 1936, he acquired in Netstal, in the Canton of Glarus, the Maschinenfabrik Eisen- & Messinggiesserei Ulrich Rietmann & Cie, a small local company in difficulty founded in 1857 by Ulrich Rietmann. In 1922, the Maschinenfabrik Rietmann had been transformed into Maschinenfabrik & Giesserei Netstal AG.
In 1943, the Coppetti family settled with their sons Peter, Hans, and Thomas in Netstal, where Emilio Coppetti led the Maschinenfabrik & Giesserei Netstal toward success. The company specialized in the production of machinery for processing plastics.
During his youth, Hans Coppetti joined the scouting movement and distinguished himself in sport shooting. At the Knabenschiessen in Zurich, a competition for young marksmen, he was awarded the General Guisan Prize.

Airplane pilot

After completing compulsory schooling, Hans Coppetti attended the business high school in Zurich. During this period, he first came into contact with the world of aviation.
On December 23, 1957, he obtained private pilot license nr. 4530 for airplanes, followed by a restricted commercial pilot license issued on September 1, 1959.

Even after joining the family business and playing a decisive role in promoting its industrial development, Hans Coppetti devoted a considerable part of his free time to flying.
Like many pilots in the Alpine region, he was fascinated by the possibility of landing on glaciers. To this end, he took specialized training courses, following in the footsteps of well-known Swiss pilots Hermann Geiger (1914–1966) and Fredy Wissel (1905–1994), the famous “flying hotellier” from St. Moritz. Wissel was among the first in Switzerland to land on glaciers with airplanes to supply mountain huts and carry out rescue missions on behalf of the then Swiss Air Rescue Guard (SARG, now Rega). Hans Coppetti also became a member of the SARG.
On March 14, 1961, he informed the Federal Office of Civil Aviation that he had completed 1,000 landings on 49 different glaciers and applied to become a flight instructor in this particularly demanding and risky discipline.
During those years, he founded the company Champion Flugzeug AG, based in Netstal, to market aircraft of the same name produced in the United States. One of these aircraft was sold to the Mollis flying group.

In March 1962, a regional newspaper reported the following: “On March 23, during a mountain landing course organized by the Zurich motor flying group in St. Moritz, glacier landing instructor Hans Coppetti of Glarus reached 2,000 landings, while Ty Rufer of Bern completed 5,000. Over the eight days of the course, the 20 participants - army and SARG pilots - carried out around 2,500 landings in the mountains of the Engadine.”
On May 9, 1963, the Champion 7-GCB HB-UAM aircraft crashed while on approach to the Clariden Pass. The following day, Hans Coppetti, who at the time had accumulated 700 flight hours and 4,200 landings, of which 3,500 were on glaciers, set off with a mechanic in a Piper Super Cub HB-ORP to land near the damaged aircraft and dismantle its onboard instruments. During the attempt to take off again, he too had an accident; however, both he and his companion were unharmed, while the aircraft suffered severe damage. The two had no choice but to descend to the valley on skis.
This incident did not deter him from his goal: on June 16, 1964, after attending a new course organized by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, he obtained certification as a flight instructor. The following year, he carried out several material transport flights for the expansion of the Planura mountain hut, located at 2,950 meters above sea level.

Helicopter pilot

During his activity as a glacier pilot, Hans Coppetti came into contact with the world of helicopters. Fascinated by this aircraft and its many possible applications, he decided as early as 1966, during a stay in Samedan/GR, to take his first flying lessons. Under the guidance of Walter Tschumi, in April 1966 he completed several hours of training at the controls of the Bell 47G3B-1 HB-XBT. For unknown reasons, he then interrupted his training, only to resume it several years later.

Foundation of Linth-Helikopter AG

Convinced of the helicopter’s potential, and of the valuable services it could provide in the Canton of Glarus, Hans Coppetti decided, together with Dr. Peter Rutschmann, to create a new helicopter company.
With a share capital of 100,000 Swiss francs, Linth-Helikopter AG was officially established in Mollis/GL on November 1, 1972. Its first chairman was Hans Coppetti, who held 90% of the share capital.
Peter Rutschmann, a medical doctor by profession (and appointed by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation to conduct aeromedical examinations for pilots), was at the time deputy director of SARG and held both airplane and helicopter pilot licenses.
The purpose of the newly founded company was: “The acquisition of helicopters and other aircraft, the organization and execution of flight operations with such equipment, as well as the trade in helicopters and other civil aviation products.”
The first helicopter used by the newly founded company was the Hughes 269C HB-XDU, one of the first of this series registered in Switzerland. In addition to the pilot, it could carry two passengers or a slung load of approximately 150–200 kg. For a few months prior to the company’s establishment, the helicopter was registered under Peter Rutschmann’s name.

On January 15, 1973, at Mollis aerodrome Hans Coppetti resumed his training with flight instructor Jean Seydoux, this time on the Bell 47G2 HB-XAW. On February 2, after passing the exam with Federal Office of Civil Aviation expert Werner Donau, he obtained private helicopter pilot license nr. 140.
In the following months, again together with Jean Seydoux, he learned to fly the Hughes 269C and the Bell 206A JetRanger, which was added to his flight license on April 8, 1973.

The helicopter takes off… but without the pilot

Starting in the spring of 1973, Hans Coppetti began using HB-XDU to transport people, food supplies, and buildings materials to alpine pastures in the region.
On July 11, 1973, after a day of work in his office, he went to Mollis. At around 6:15 p.m., he took off at the controls of HB-XDU carrying a suspended load of about 100 kg, heading toward Alp Aueren situated at an altitude of 1,710 meters. Once there, he set the net with the load down in front of the alpine hut and landed a short distance away. After reducing the engine speed, he got out to deliver a package in the hands of the herdsman and recover the cargo net.
While exchanging a few words with the man, he suddenly heard the engine rev up. Shortly afterward, the helicopter lifted about one meter off the ground and began to spin on its vertical axis. Realizing he could no longer correct his mistake (he had forgotten to secure the collective pitch control) he sought cover with the shepherd behind a hut. The helicopter eventually tipped over onto its side, sustaining severe damage.
Fortunately, neither he nor anyone else present was injured. At the time of the accident, Hans Coppetti already had extensive experience flying airplanes (around 1,600 flight hours and 8,000 landings, about 5,000 of them in mountainous terrain). His helicopter experience, however, was still rather limited: 115 flight hours, about 80 of them on the Hughes 269C.

After the helicopter was repaired, he resumed his activities and officially obtained certification for mountain landings. On December 23, 1973, the Federal Office of Civil Aviation issued him helicopter commercial pilot license nr. 157.

Pilot by passion

Alongside his work as a factory director - having succeeded his father Emilio, who passed away in July 1976 - Hans Coppetti made a significant contribution to the development of Linth Helikopter AG.
Whenever his many commitments allowed, he was always willing to take on flights himself. At the beginning, these were mainly supply flights for the many alpine pastures in the region. He often personally helped prepare the loads and coordinated the transports. At the end of the season, he would carry down to the valley the cheese produced during the summer. Occasionally, he also transported meat from animals that had been slaughtered in emergencies during the alpine season. These were essentially his first activities.

The presence of the new helicopter company also proved very valuable for SARG, which entered into a cooperation agreement with Linth-Helikopter AG. For mountain rescue operations, the young company acquired an Agusta-Bell 206B JetRanger II. Hans Coppetti also proposed the creation of a helicopter landing pad at the cantonal hospital and organized an on-call rescue service.
His wife Gabriela, whom he married in 1967, described him as a good organizer, capable of surrounding himself with competent people and motivating them. In the Swiss Army he reached the rank of colonel.
In 1982, Linth Helikopter AG celebrated its tenth anniversary with impressive figures: in around 1,000 flight hours, 87 people were rescued, 176 animals were brought down from emergency situations, and more than 100 alpine pastures were supplied.