Juab County plane crash victims identified

Weather believed factor • Thunderstorm, strong winds hit at time of flight.

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Two men, one from Utah and another from Canada, died Thursday in the fiery crash of a light aircraft near Nephi, the Juab County Sheriff's Office confirmed Friday.

Sheriff Aldon Orme said that the victims had been identified as Robert Marion Lamb, 45, of Woodland Hills, Utah, and Peter John Mrowiec, 58, of Ontario, Canada. The plane crashed about one mile southeast of the Nephi airport and 100 yards south of Highway 132.

Orme said that Mrowiec had traveled to Utah to buy the plane, a single-engine Alarus 235, and had retained Lamb as a flight instructor to help familiarize him with the aircraft.

A social media profile for Lamb lists the pilot as the CEO of a Springville-based flight instruction firm called AME High, AME being an acronym for "Aviation Made Easy." Calls placed to the company Friday afternoon were not returned.

"At the time of the crash, severe weather moved through the area with strong winds accompanied by heavy downpours," the sheriff said. "We do believe the weather was a factor in the crash. Upon impact, the plane was engulfed in flames. First responders from Juab County arrived and extinguished the fire, but both men were dead."

Orme said FAA investigators were on the scene Friday to assist in the investigation into the crash.

remims@sltrib.com kbennion@sltrib.com