Memorial Planned for Pilot Killed in Crash

Parents and teachers at a Simi Valley elementary school have joined in planning a public memorial service to honor a local pilot who died last week when his plane slammed into a hillside in Aspen, Colo.

Peter Kowalczyk was the co-pilot of a chartered jet out of Burbank that crashed on approach Thursday in snowy weather, killing all 18 people aboard.

The crew was ferrying a large group of friends to a ski vacation.

“The whole thing has hit [the family] very, very hard,” said Margaret Amato, a kindergarten teacher at Katherine Elementary School who teaches Kowalczyk’s 5-year-old daughter, Anna.

Amato said Kowalczyk, his wife, Ewa, and their daughter immigrated from Poland several years ago with hopes of fulfilling the American dream.

The Kowalczyks have no family locally and few friends, Amato said.

“The whole community is trying to offer our help and services to them any way we can,” Amato said.

A memorial service has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Simi Valley.

The public has been invited to attend. Kowalczyk will be interred in Poland.