[h=1]10 Americans among 12 dead in Costa Rica plane crash[/h]
<cite class="el-editorial-source" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: CNN, "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">(CNN)</cite>A small plane crash Sunday in northwest Costa Rica killed 12 people, including 10 US citizens, officials said.
The single-engine turboprop's two Costa Rican pilots also died in the crash, President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera said in a statement posted on social media. There were no survivors.
Costa Rica's Ministry of Public Security posted several images of the wreckage on its official Facebook page, showing the plane engulfed in flames in a wooded area, with smoke billowing from charred rubble.
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A spokesperson for the US State Department confirmed the deaths of "multiple US citizens" in the crash.
"We express our condolences to all those affected by this tragedy. We are in contact with Costa Rican aviation authorities and will continue to monitor the situation," the spokesperson said.
[h=3]Hours before crash, winds forced change of course[/h]
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, which happened early Sunday afternoon in Nandayure, a region in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.
Authorities said Sunday they were focusing on recovering the victims' bodies and would begin an investigation into the cause of the crash first thing Monday.
The plane took off from the Punta Islita Airport at 12:10 p.m. Sunday, bound for Costa Rica's capital, San Jose. Officials received reports of the crash around 12:20 p.m., 10 minutes after takeoff, CNN affiliate Teletica reported, citing civil aviation authorities.
Earlier Sunday, heavy winds had forced the plane's pilots to land at another airport and delay their arrival in Punta Islita, Teletica said.
<cite class="el-editorial-source" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: CNN, "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">(CNN)</cite>A small plane crash Sunday in northwest Costa Rica killed 12 people, including 10 US citizens, officials said.
The single-engine turboprop's two Costa Rican pilots also died in the crash, President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera said in a statement posted on social media. There were no survivors.
Costa Rica's Ministry of Public Security posted several images of the wreckage on its official Facebook page, showing the plane engulfed in flames in a wooded area, with smoke billowing from charred rubble.
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"We express our condolences to all those affected by this tragedy. We are in contact with Costa Rican aviation authorities and will continue to monitor the situation," the spokesperson said.
[h=3]Hours before crash, winds forced change of course[/h]
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, which happened early Sunday afternoon in Nandayure, a region in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.
Authorities said Sunday they were focusing on recovering the victims' bodies and would begin an investigation into the cause of the crash first thing Monday.
The plane took off from the Punta Islita Airport at 12:10 p.m. Sunday, bound for Costa Rica's capital, San Jose. Officials received reports of the crash around 12:20 p.m., 10 minutes after takeoff, CNN affiliate Teletica reported, citing civil aviation authorities.
Earlier Sunday, heavy winds had forced the plane's pilots to land at another airport and delay their arrival in Punta Islita, Teletica said.
New York family of five killed in Costa Rica plane crash....Steinberg family
The Weiss family
Rip
Just awful, all over the news here. Coming out now that winds and maybe the plane was overloaded is the cause. Hopefully know more soon. Terrible for their families. I've flown this Nature Air company a few times and just about every time something scary or out of control happened. Not run well at all. But there wi
