Thor Kristen Tjøntveit (28 July 1936 – 3 March 2017) was a

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

aviator. Tjøntveit grew up at Hesthagen in

Grimstad Grimstad () is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik, ...

, Norway. After taking his pilot's license, he moved to the United States in 1961; he became an

American citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

in 1965. In 1967, he crashed in

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

as was missing for ten days before being found. He was also the first person to fly over both the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

and the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

in the same trip. In the US, Tjøntveit operated a retailer of general aviation aircraft. He established the charter airline Trans Polar in 1970, which went bankrupt the following year. At the time the 33-million

Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''� ...

bankruptcy was the largest in the country's history. Tjøntveit was charged, but acquitted of charges of deceit in the airline. In 1972 Tjøntveit established Norwegian Overseas Airways, which never received operating permit in Norway and therefore moved its operations to Bangladesh. Tjøntveit was sentenced for gross fraud against an insurance company in 1987. He was indicted in 2003 in the largest

value added tax A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...

fraud in Norwegian history, but fled the country. Upon his return in 2005, he was sentenced and remained in prison until 2012. He died on 3 March 2017.Nekrolog: Thor Kristen Tjøntveit

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tjonveit, Thor 1936 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Norwegian criminals 21st-century Norwegian criminals Norwegian male criminals Norwegian aviators Norwegian fraudsters Norwegian prisoners and detainees People from Grimstad Prisoners and detainees of Norway