TAMPA (WFLA) — A community is in mourning as the Tampa Bay area learns about a long time doctor’s death in an Indiana plane crash.

Dr. Daniel Greenwald loved to fly using Peter O. Knight Airport as his base for many years, even flying humanitarian missions out of there.

It was an eerie sight Saturday afternoon; a small engine plane mangled after crashing in an Indiana field.

The Howard County, Indiana coroner declared Greenwald dead in the plane. No one else was with him.

Back in Tampa, word is spreading about the deadly crash that took the life of the South Tampa cosmetic surgeon.

“We see a lot of sun-exposed skin,” Greenwald said in a previous interview with 8 On Your Side.

He would use his expertise to bring awareness to important issues.

“Cancer has a bad name because it’s cancer,” he said.

His colleagues at Tampa General Hospital, where he worked for more than two decades, shared a touching tribute Sunday evening.

“He was an immensely talented surgeon who took on the most complex cases and mastered them.”

In the statement, hospital staff said, “No matter how busy he was, he always took time to connect with the people around him with sincerity and empathy. He was deeply dedicated to his patients, including those who faced devastating traumatic injuries.”

8 On Your Side learned from those he worked with that he had hundreds of hours of flight time, using that and his medical skills to give back. Greenwald once flew medical supplies to Haiti after an earthquake in 2018. He also donated his time as a surgeon to help those hurt.

On social media, former patients, friends, and those in the aviation community shared how Greenwald inspired them.

The NTSB and FAA are investigating the crash. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay continues to mourn a well-known figure of our community.

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