Community mourns Scarsdale family killed in Costa Rica plane crash
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (WABC) -- Grief counselors will be on hand Tuesday at a school in Scarsdale, where the community is reeling from the death of a family killed in a plane crash in Costa Rica.
Bruce and Irene Steinberg and their sons, Zachary, William and Matthew were among the 12 people killed Sunday on a flight to the capitol of the country.
Also killed were five other Americans and two pilots.
The family's nanny who cared for the children for 15 years came to the family's empty home and was overcome by grief.
A friend of one of the victims was also having a hard time processing the loss.
"He is such a good person, it's really hard to see that go and they were all such smart people, they were really gonna do things in life," he said.
"We are in utter shock and disbelief right now," Bruce Steinberg's sister, Tamara Steinberg Jacobson, wrote on Facebook.
Rabbi Jonathan Blake of the Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale said in a statement posted on the temple's Facebook page that the Steinbergs were involved in philanthropy and local Jewish groups.
"This tragedy hits our community very hard," Blake wrote.
United States aviation officials and the maker of the plane that crashed killing all 12 people aboard will collaborate in the accident investigation, according to Costa Rican authorities.
Civil Aviation director Enio Cubillo says his U.S. counterparts and representatives from Cessna are expected to arrive Wednesday.
He says the plane took off from a private air strip and there was no communication between the pilot and a control tower.
Authorities are investigating whether strong winds or some sort of mechanical failure was responsible.
(Some information from the Associated Press)
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