The wife of a Wollongong blimp pilot, who died saving three airship passengers in Germany, has said her husband was "larger than life" and "a character".

Speaking to the Illawarra Mercury today, Lyndy Nerandzic said she was not surprised to hear of husband Michael's heroic actions in the last minutes of his life.

"When they told me what he had done for the passengers, it didn't surprise me one little bit," she said.

"He was a character. He was larger than life. He was so, so generous."