Four killed in Sioux Falls plane crash driven by passions. Cessna 421C Golden Eagle, N421SY

Four men killed in Friday’s plane crash all were pursuing their passions.

In this May 21 photo, Dan Swets, professor of computer science at Augustana, teaches students to program robots. 

Emily Spartz / Argus Leader

Three were flying from Sioux Falls to Rapid City for FIRST Lego League practice competition. The fourth, pilot Brian Blake of Sioux Falls, loved to fly.

Alan Swanson, a retired engineer who know the three involved in the Lego League, said the men shared a love of family, a love of students, a dedication to seeing young people get higher education and a desire to make science and technology fun and available to kids across South Dakota.

Their deaths are a big loss for the community, the state and the South Dakota Lego League.

“They never said ‘No.’ They were always gung-ho about this and really intent on getting the message out to all of the kids,” he said.

The league is a program for 9- to 14-year-olds to help them get excited about science, technology, engineering and math.

Two of the three men had ties to Augustana College and Sioux Falls students. Dr. Daniel Swets, 47, was associate professor of computer science at the college. Augustana alum Kevin Anderson, 50, also worked for the Sioux Fall School District.

“Dan was an incredibly talented scientist and respected teacher who touched the lives of thousands of students during his 16 years at Augustana,” said Rob Oliver, Augustana president. “He will be deeply missed.”

Joshua Lambrecht, 30, of Brandon, worked at Dakota Fluid Power in Sioux Falls and was head referee for the LEGO League. He trained other league officials.

Swets was serving as president of the South Dakota Robotics Association. At Augustana, Swets taught the hardware sequence for computer science majors and was responsible for many of the upper-level electives in the department. They included graphics, networks and parallel processing. His current research interests included algorithm development for remote sensing, computer vision, content-based image retrieval, computer graphics, virtual reality and robotics.

Augustana is planning a memorial service for Swets. Details on the service were expected to be available soon. The college also will make counselors available for students.

Anderson, 50, Sioux Falls, was a programmer and systems analyst in the Sioux Falls School District’s assessment, technology and information services department.

Sharon Schueler, coordinator of assessment, said she worked with him for 12 years and last spoke with him Friday morning.

“He was a person who absolutely loved his job. If you asked Kevin Anderson for help, he was always, ‘Yep, we can do that,’ ” she said. “He will leave such a hole in the district.”

The Sioux Falls School District issued a statement:

“The Sioux Falls School District family is devastated by the tragic news of today’s plane crash. Kevin Anderson loved his work as a computer programmer, but he loved his family even more. His love for his son is what drove Kevin to become involved in the FIRST Lego League — an academic enrichment experience that teaches middle school students how to build and program robots for competition. Kevin served the district for 23 years with a friendly, can-do attitude at every turn. His family, his student team, and his district colleagues lost an incredible champion for kids.”

Blake, 54, of Sioux Falls, was a charter pilot and manager for Quest Aviation.

Jerry Foy, commander of the Sioux Falls Civil Air Patrol, said he and Blake both served in the Air National Guard and the Civil Air Patrol. He called Blake a “soft-spoken gentleman.”

“He was an exceptional leader, and he was truly loved and appreciated by those in the aviation community in the Tea and Sioux Falls,” Foy said.

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