Hannes Arch was born on 22 September 1967 in Leoben, Austria. From an early age, he was fascinated by sports, flying and the Alps. He began hang gliding at the age of fifteen and subsequently took up climbing, mountaineering, paragliding, BASE jumping and skydiving. He became one of the pioneers of paragliding aerobatics. In 1997, Arch won the unofficial Aerobatic Paragliding World Championship, and in 1999, he won the Eurosport Mad Masters.
Arch also pioneered BASE jumping from Alpine peaks, jumping from the north face of the Eiger in 2000 and the Matterhorn in 2003. He was also one of the driving forces behind the Red Bull X-Alps adventure race, which requires competitors to cross the Alps on foot and by paraglider.
In 2006, Arch won the freestyle category at the FAI European Aerobatic Championships, earning him a place in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. After finishing tenth in his debut 2007 season, he won the 2008 championship, taking victories in Hungary and Portugal. Although he never won the title again, Arch remained among the series’ leading pilots, finishing second in 2009, 2010 and 2014, and third in 2015 and 2016.
Away from competition, Arch became famous for spectacular aviation stunts, such as flying under Salzburg’s Mozartsteg bridge in 2007 and between wind turbines at Tauernwindpark in 2014. Despite his international fame, he remained closely connected with the Alps and operated a helicopter company supplying remote mountain huts.
On 8 September 2016, Arch was returning from Elberfelder Hütte in a Robinson R66 when the helicopter struck a mountainside shortly after take-off. He was killed instantly, while his passenger survived with serious injuries. The investigation concluded in 2018 stated that a combination of pilot error and low natural light, coupled with glare from the helicopter’s lighting and instrument panel, had caused the Austrian pilot to lose orientation.
During the 2016 Red Bull Air Race season, Arch scored points in five of eight races, nevertheless finishing third overall – posthumously.
