www.CostaRicaTicas.com

10 Americans + 2 local pilots dead

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wir ... a-52072212

Here is an update:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/12/31 ... s-say.html

surprised it doesn't happen more often
for those who haven't flown these planes its the equivalent of those wooden balsa wood toys w the rubberband
RIP to the Steinberg family my god

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

Yes, it's true that the planes are not very sturdy. But it's a light airplane. It's much more susceptible to weather than an airliner. And according to the article, the flight in had issues landing to due to winds. But unfortunately, in light aircraft accidents, it's about 80% pilot error. According to the 2nd article, they reported issues after takeoff, so I'm guessing engine problems. But to lose both engines would be rare. And losing one engine on a two engine turbo-prop can be dangerous too. It requires immediate action to counter the drag and uneven thrust, especially low and slow (like takeoff).

These planes are some of the most popular planes in the world for these short hops. They have a good safety record, if maintained according to manufacturer's schedules. I have flown Nature Air and Sansa a handful of times. I have always been a little curious about the maintenance on these planes. And the pilots tend to be very young. CR is like the US, when flying on regionals, the pilots are usually in their 20's just starting their careers. But the captain is said to have been very experienced.

It'll be interesting who will lead the accident investigation. It happened in Costa Rica, the plane is Canadian, and all the passengers were Americans. I would not trust the Costa Ricans since they have a vested interest in not scaring off tourists. I hope the US embassy puts pressure to let the NTSB run it. I'm very curious about the cause.

I too feel bad for that family. Went to have a little adventure in paradise and lost the whole family.

UPDATE: The tourist families had booked TWO (2) Caravans. Due to issues, only one (1) showed up. Yes, overweight.

Based on what I've personally seen flying gringos in and out of a bare (no services) airstrip in Costa Rica, I am going to say the plane was overweight.

A Caravan is supposedly a 12-passenger plane (it has 12 seats). Maybe 12 Somalis with no luggage.

In my experience the max practical load is 6-8 gringos, even if they actually follow the luggage restrictions (30 lb bag and passenger weight of 250* with any carry on included). With Ticos, maybe 10.

The hotel in Samara probably took the people to the airstrip and dropped them off. Carrillo is a bare strip (no terminal or services) so the pilots had to guesstimate weight (passengers and luggage) and they guessed wrong.

*I've seen people get on SANSA's scale at SJO. Gringos be fat.

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Any opinion or observation in the post above is purely presented for entertainment purposes and does not promote "sexual tourism" or "human trafficking". The laws of Costa Rica apply to all activities in Costa Rica. No warranty is expressed or implied. Void where prohibited by law. Your experience, observations or perspective may be different.

In exile in pu*sy prison

Possibly bad fuel and/or an inoperable fuel filter. Nothing stops an aircraft engine quicker than water or other debris in the fuel supply. Yes will be an interesting investigation. R.I.P. to all who perished.

I have never flown Nature Air, but I have flown Sansa Air a dozen times or so from SJO to Tamarindo. Sansa Air is very weight conscious and does weigh the passengers. I have never felt unsafe on Sansa. My prayers are with the families of those on the Nature Air flight

Can't be that. They don't re-fuel there. Water in the tanks would be found while sumping fuel during preflight; or shortly after taking off from SJ.

My guess would be some kind of engine problem since they had time to call it in. An airframe problem, there wouldn't be a call. It's not clear how soon after takeoff they crashed. The overweight issue would have caused them to crash on takeoff. Once they were stable climbing out, that's unlikely.

High winds often cause flight cancellations at Carillo as well as Punta Islita. May or may not be the cause but something to be aware of. This tragedy is too sad for words. God Bless them all.

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Have you ever been to Electric Ladyland?

Well they had 2 deadly crashes in 2017! The other plane crashed in Pavas.
https://news.co.cr/us-traveler-resident ... ash/65294/