FATAL PLANE CRASH IN WEST FIELDS • There were no survivors in this small plane crash Thursday, August 30 west of Nephi. Robert Lamb, Woodland Hills, and Peter Morwiec, Ontario, Canada, were believed to have died instantly. Bad weather is believed to be the leading factor in the crash. Photo by Rebecca Dopp.
By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Two men died in an accident just west of Nephi on Thursday afternoon when their single engine plane crashed to the ground and burst into flames.
Robert Marion Lamb, 45, a flight instructor from Woodland Hills, and Peter John Morwiec, 58, Ontario, Canada, died in the crash.
"A strong wind, accompanied by a heavy downpour of rain, had suddenly come into the area," said Alden Orme, Juab County Sheriff. "They weren't that far from the Nephi airport and may have been trying to turn to get to it so they could land."
It appeared to witnesses that the pilot tried to turn the plane but failed.
"When the plane collided with the earth it was fully engulfed with flame," he said.
The call came into dispatch at 4:15 p.m., he said, and First Responders, made up of deputies, EMTs and the fire department, all from Nephi, rushed to the site.
"They were able to put out the fire quickly," said Orme.
The airplane landed in a field of alfalfa being raised on leased land by Jim McWilliams and located just west of SR 132 and not far from the Nephi Municipal Airport.
"The accident was just south and west of the airport," said Orme.
The Alarus 235, a single 150 horsepower engine, was being purchased by Morwiec, said Orme. He needed flight instruction to familiarize himself with the plane before flying it back to Canada.
The plane did not belong to Lamb but was being purchased from another individual. In fact, Lamb didn't know Morwiec.
Nevertheless, Lamb offered to give Morwiec five hours of training in the plane so that he would be qualified to fly to Canada.
Lamb was performing the service for free.
Reid Jarrett and his son were working on their land when they witnessed the accident. The pair rushed to the scene to see if they could be of help.
Jarrett said that a hard gust of wind was blowing and a storm was coming in at the time the accident occurred. He said that the airplane went up, then turned, fell straight down and struck the earth.
"It appeared, according to witnesses, that the pilots may have been trying to turn back to the airport," Orme said. "At this point, we do not know which man was flying the plane since there were dual controls."
"But according to the information we obtained from witnesses—they believe the plane was trying to make a turn, and the winds affected the flight and it crashed," Orme said.
He said that he was fairly certain that neither man could have survived the impact of the crash. He said the accident was still under investigation but he thought that the men perished when the plane hit the ground with such impact.
FAA investigators were on the scene Friday to assist in the investigation into the crash, he said. However, it will likely be a long process before the federal investigators issue a final report on the cause of the crash.
"We secured the site so that the FAA investigators could begin their work early on Friday," said Orme.
Lamb had obtained his pilot's license more than 20 years ago and a few years ago had also become a certified flight instructor. He then began his own business.
Lamb was the CEO of a Springville-based flight instruction company called AME High—Aviation Made Easy.
Lamb is survived by his wife and five children. One son is serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South America. Another son is preparing to leave for a mission in Spain.
Just four months ago, Lamb was able to walk away from a plane crash in southern Utah.
Family members said that Lamb was the kind of person who looked out for other people. Many such comments can be read on the Facebook site which has been set up for comments from family and friends at: https://www.facebook.com/ LettersForRobert Lamb?ref=ts.
Morwiec was a prominent criminal defense lawyer in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, most notably representing Jake Raynard in a 2009 assault case.
Morwiec leaves behind a wife and three grown children.
