2017 — Dec 31, plane crash, 2 Costa Rica pilots, 10 US citizens, NW Costa Rica–10US of 12

–12  (10 US). CBS News. “Strong winds to blame for Costa Rica plane crash?” 1-2-2018.

–12  Fox News. “Florida family of 4, basketball standout among newly identified…” 1-1-2018.

–10  NYT. “New York Family of 5 Among 10 Americans Killed in…Plane Crash.” 12-31-2017.

 

Narrative Information

 

Dec 31: “….Officials in Guanacaste, a popular region on the Pacific coast for tourists, responded to reports shortly after noon of smoke and flames rising from a wooded area near Punta Islita Airport. Emergency responders found the charred wreckage of a Cessna plane[1] operated by the regional airline Nature Air and the burned remains of those who had been on board….

 

“After the pilots picked up the American passengers, the plane took off for San José, the capital, which is about 140 miles east, the authorities said. Photos posted by government officials on Facebook show that the Cessna plane crashed several hundred yards from the end of a runway at Punta Islita Airport….” (NYT. “New York Family of 5 Among 10 Americans Killed in…Plane Crash.” 12-31-2017.)

 

Jan 1: “A charter plane crashed in northwestern Costa Rica on Sunday, killing 10 American passengers and two Costa Rican pilots, according to the Costa Rican government. The plane crashed in Guanacaste just moments after takeoff from Punta Islita Airport, according to officials and witnesses….The crash took place Sunday afternoon at 12:15 p.m. after the plane left the airport heading to Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose…

 

“Backroads, a travel company headquartered in California, confirmed in a statement Monday that the passengers aboard the downed plane were on a trip it had organized. There were nine Backroads guests, a Backroads trip leader and two flight crew members on the Nature Air flight, the company said….

 

“Dawn and Matthew Wolfe, who have been vacationing in Costa Rica for a month, said they and their three children were sitting in a restaurant near Punta Islita Airport when the plane took off. They said within minutes after takeoff the plane took a nose dive and crashed….” (ABC News (Ben Gittleson and Dean Schabner). “10 Americans killed in Costa Rica plane crash.” 1-1-2018.)

 

Jan 1: “San Jose, Costa Rica….Nature Air identified the victims of the crash on Monday afternoon. The passengers were identified as Leslie Levin Weiss, Ari Moses Weiss, Hannah Mae Weiss, Hannah Mae Weiss, Mitchell Weiss, Irene Ginsberg Steinberg, Justin Zachary Steinberg, William Aaron Steinberg, Matthew Benjamin Steinberg, Bruce Michael Steinberg and Amanda Rae Geissler.”

 

Jan 1: “San Jose, Costa Rica — Costa Rican investigators are looking into what caused a charter aircraft to crash in woods in the country’s northwest soon after takeoff, killing two crewmembers and 10 U.S. citizens, including families from New York and Florida. The families from Scarsdale, New York, and Belleair, Florida, accounted for nine of the dead. It remained unclear who the 10th victim was….” (Associated Press. “Families from Florida, NY die in Costa Rica plane crash.” ABC7 Eyewitness News, Chicago, 1-1-2018.)

 

Jan 1: “San Jose, Costa Rica — Costa Rican investigators are looking into what caused a charter aircraft to crash in woods in the country’s northwest soon after takeoff, killing two crewmembers and 10 U.S. citizens, including families from New York and Florida. The families from Scarsdale, New York, and Belleair, Florida, accounted for nine of the dead. The 10th passenger was identified as Amanda Geissler, a tour guide….” (CBS News/AP. “Families from Florida and New York die in Costa Rica plane crash.” 1-1-2018.)

 

Jan 1: “….“Aboard the flight were nine Backroads guests, a Backroads Trip Leader and two flight crew members,” the Backroads statement said. “A second Nature Air flight carrying Backroads guests and another Trip Leader arrived safely in San Jose.” (Fox News. “Florida family of 4, basketball standout among newly identified victims of Costa Rica plane crash, reports say.” 1-1-2018.)

 

Jan 2: “Investigators in Costa Rica are trying to determine if strong winds caused a plane crash that killed 10 Americans near the town of Punta Islita on New Year’s Eve. All 12 people on board died, including a family from New York and another from Florida.

 

“Two investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board in the U.S. are traveling to Costa Rica to help with the investigation, reports CBS News’ Don Dahler. Costa Rican officials say they’re focused on two things that could have caused the crash: mechanical problems and weather….

 

“The private charter flight – operated by the Costa Rican airline Nature Air – crashed just minutes after taking off from a small airfield on Costa Rica’s west coast late Sunday morning. The plane was headed for the capital city of San Jose.

 

“Aviation officials say before picking up passengers at that airport, the Cessna Grand Caravan attempted to land just before 11:00 a.m., but winds of more than 28 mph were too strong. The plane was forced to wait at a nearby airport before successfully attempting the landing a second time. Thirty minutes later, the plane departed with 10 Americans on board and crashed….” (CBS News. “Strong winds to blame for Costa Rica plane crash?” 1-2-2018.)

 

Victims

 

  1. Calderón, Emma Ramos. Co-pilot, Costa Rico.
  2. Chinchilla, Juan Manuel Retana. Pilot, Costa Rico.
  3. Geissler, Amanda Rae, 33 (tour guide).[2]

Gene Wing Szeto.[3] [Noted in several articles as a victim — apparently in error.]

  1. Steinberg, Bruce, 50[4] (husband of Irene, father of Matthew, William, Zachary), Scarsdale, NY
  2. Steinberg, Irene Ginsberg, 51[5] (wife of Bruce, mother of Matthew, William, Zachary), NY.
  3. Steinberg, Matthew Benjamin, 13,[6] (son of Bruce and Irene), NY.
  4. Steinberg, William Aaron, 18,[7] (son of Bruce and Irene), NY.
  5. Steinberg, Justin Zachary, 19,[8] (son of Bruce and Irene), NY.
  6. Weiss, Ari, 16.[9]
  7. Weiss, Hannah Mae, 19.
  8. Weiss, Leslie Levin, 50,[10] Belleair (St. Petersburg area), FL.
  9. Weiss, Mitchell, 51,[11] Belleair (St. Petersburg area), FL.

 

Sources

 

6ABC Action News, Philadelphia. “University of Pennsylvania student, family killed in Costa Rica plane crash.” 1-1-2018 (citing WPVI, San Jose, Costa Rica). Accessed 1-1-2018 at: http://6abc.com/penn-student-family-killed-in-costa-rica-plane-crash/2846909/

 

ABC News (Ben Gittleson and Dean Schabner). “10 Americans killed in Costa Rica plane crash.” 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: http://abcnews.go.com/International/multiple-americans-killed-costa-rica-plane-crash/story?id=52072371

 

Associated Press. “Families from Florida, NY die in Costa Rica plane crash.” ABC7 Eyewitness News, Chicago, 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: http://abc7chicago.com/families-from-florida-ny-die-in-costa-rica-plane-crash/2848007/

 

CBS News/AP. “All 10 U.S. victims in Costa Rica Plane crash identified.” 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/costa-rica-crash-cause-investigated-killed-us-citizens-nature-air/

 

CBS News/AP. “Families from Florida and New York die in Costa Rica plane crash.” 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/costa-rica-crash-cause-investigated-killed-us-citizens-nature-air/

 

CBS News. “Strong winds to blame for Costa Rica plane crash?” 1-2-2018. Accessed 1-2-2018 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/strong-winds-a-factor-in-costa-rica-plane-crash-killed-10-americans/

 

Fox News. “Florida family of 4, basketball standout among newly identified victims of Costa Rica plane crash, reports say.” 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-2-2017 at: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/01/01/florida-family-4-basketball-standout-among-newly-identified-victims-costa-rica-plane-crash-reports-say.html

 

Jewish Life News. “Family of 5 from New York, 3 members of Florida family killed in Costa Rica small plane crash.” 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: https://jewishlifenews.com/news/family-of-5-from-new-york-3-members-of-florida-family-killed-in-costa-rica-small-plane-crash/

 

New York Post (Joe Tacophino, Kate Sheehy, Bruce Golding). “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: https://nypost.com/2017/12/31/new-york-family-among-victims-in-deadly-costa-rica-plane-crash/

 

New York Times (Matthew Haag). “New York Family of 5 Among 10 Americans Killed in Costa Rica Plane Crash.” 12-31-2017. Accessed 1-1-208 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/31/world/americas/costa-rica-plane-crash.html

 

Pioneer Press (S. M. Chavey). “Victim in Costa Rica plane crash previously lived in St. Paul, attended UW-Stout,” TwinCities.com, 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: https://www.twincities.com/2018/01/01/victim-in-costa-rica-plane-crash-previously-lived-in-st-paul-attended-uw-stout/

 

The Jerusalem Post. “8 Jews From Two Families Killed in Costa Rica Plane Crash.” 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/8-Jews-from-two-families-killed-in-Costa-Rica-plane-crash-522547

 

WTSP.com (Andrew Krietz and Phil Buck). “Tampa Bay family killed among 12 people killed in Costa Rica place crash.” 1-1-2018. Accessed 1-1-2018 at: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/pinellascounty/reports-tampa-bay-area-couple-among-12-people-killed-in-costa-rica-plane-crash/503939535

 

 

 

[1] Single-engine. New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017.

[2] CBS News. “Families from Florida and New York die in Costa Rica plane crash.” 1-1-2018. Another source notes that Amanda Geissler was a “Wisconsin native who had also lived in St. Paul.” Confirmed whe was “a trip leader at the time of the accident.” (Pioneer Press/S. M. Chavey. “Victim in Costa Rica plane crash previously lived in St. Paul, attended UW-Stout,” TwinCities.com, 1-1-2018.)

[3] New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017; Jewish Life News. “Family of 5 from New York, 3 members of Florida family killed in Costa Rica small plane crash.” 1-1-2018; The Jerusalem Post. “8 Jews From Two Families Killed in Costa Rica Plane Crash.” 1-1-2018.

[4] Age from: New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017.

[5] Age from: New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017.

[6] Age from: New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017.

[7] Age from: New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017.

[8] Age from: New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017.

[9] 6ABC Action News, Philadelphia. “University of Pennsylvania student, family killed in Costa Rica plane crash.” 1-1-2018 (citing WPVI, San Jose, Costa Rica; ABC News. “10 Americans killed in Costa Rica plane crash.” 1-1-2018. Age from Fox News. “Florida family of 4, basketball standout among newly identified victims of Costa Rica plane crash, reports say.” 1-1-2018.

[10] Age from: New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017. Notes she as a pediatrician who practiced in Tampa.

[11] Age from: New York Post. “New York family among victims in deadly Costa Rica plane crash.” 12-31-2017. Notes he was a radiology specialist in Clearwater.