Plane crash (illustrative)
Plane crash (illustrative)iStock

Costa Rica investigators are working to uncover what caused a Nature Air charter flight to crash in a wooded area 140 miles west of San Jose.

The crash occurred when the plane, carrying 10 American tourists and two local crew members, crashed and burst into flames in a wooded area in Guanacaste, northwest Costa Rica.

Speaking at a news conference, Costa Rica's Civilian Aviation Director Enio Cubillo said the plane was a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan and had passed a safety inspection approximately one month ago.

According to a statement from Nature Air, the plane was one of two charter planes carrying a total of twenty passengers. The first plane, which left 20 minutes before the doomed flight, arrived in San Jose at 11:40a.m.

Commenting on the "regrettable" crash, Nature Air noted that "this plane crashed a few minutes after takeoff."

Meanwhile, officials are still working to confirm the identities of US citizens who were aboard the plane at the time of the crash. Though Nature Air provided a list of passengers, not all the names on it have been confirmed.

Cuba has identified the pilot as Juan Manuel Retana, an experienced pilot and a cousin of former Costa Rican President Laura Chincilla.

Costa Rica's Security Minister Gustavo Mata said autopsies may be needed to determine identities, and emphasized that "there are no people alive."

A Jewish family of five is among the dead, and five other Americans have yet to be identified. The family, Bruce and Irene Steinberg and their three sons Matthew, William, and Zachary, were members of Scarsdale, New York's Jewish community.