August 11, 1989

Fourth victim of plane crash dies

       Less than two weeks after claiming its third victim, a May 26 plane crash in a Greenwood softball field has claimed the life of a fourth. Arnold Tofteland, 50, Luverne, Minn., died at 1:20 p.m. Friday of multiple blunt force injuries. He had been listed in critical condition with chest injuries and fractures of the lower extremities since being taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis in May. His wife, Carolyn Tofteland, told friends recently that she was hoping to have him back in Minnesota within a month. She had been staying in Indianapolis since the crash. Tofteland was one of five people aboard a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron that crashed in a field behind the Community Church of Greenwood May 26. The pilot, Larry Larson, 29, of Sioux Falls, S.D., was trying to make an emergency landing after radioing airport officials in Indianapolis that he was having serious fuel problems. Larson is the sole survivor of the crash. Another passenger, Ross Fenn, 62, Sioux Falls, died July 30 at Methodist, where he had been in serious condition. Two other Sioux Falls men, Robert Best, 69, and Warren Schoon, 68, died instantly when the plane crashed. The group was traveling to Indianapolis to watch the annual 500 Mile Race. The plane apparently developed engine trouble after a stop in Crawfordsville. Authorities in Indianapolis directed Larson to change his flight pattern for the Greenwood Municipal Airport, but the plane was unable to maintain altitude. The plane sheared off a wing on a clump of trees before landing in the field spreading wreckage over a 150-foot area. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are continuing their investigation into the cause of crash, but until a report is not expected until next year. One of the largest grain farmers in the Luverne area, Tofteland started his career working as an automobile mechanic for Schoon. Tofteland’s friends remembered him as a self-made individual with an excellent sense for business. “Anything he put his mind to, he did well,” Gary Papik told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Papik is general manager of Schoon Motors in Luverne. “He had a good business head on him, keeping up on farm markets, keeping a computer in his house,” he said. Schoon and Tofteland maintained a lifelong friendship. Luverne is about 20 miles from Sioux Falls. The two helped plan the May trip when the group went hunting together last fall. They shared an intense love of automobiles, friends said. Tofteland won a Grand National competition in drag racing during his tenure at Schoon Motors. He served on the board of directors of First Farmers and Merchants Bank, and was a member of the local Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, and Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne. Besides his wife, Tofteland is survived by three sons; Dean, 27, Troy, 21, and Brad, 19, and one daughter, Sherry, 25.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)
 
 

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