NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Amanda Geisler, 33, from Thorp, Wis., died in a New Year's Eve plane crash in Costa Rica. (FACEBOOK)
The horrific Costa Rica plane crash that claimed a Scarsdale family and a Columbia University student along with her parents and brother also killed a beloved tour guide from Wisconsin, officials said Monday.
Amanda Geissler, 33, died when the Nature Air charter jet she was riding in with her group slammed into a wooded area of the Guanacaste Mountains after taking off from Punta Islita airport Sunday, police and the tour company that booked the flight said.
The company, Backroads, said Geissler was a beloved employee who built “strong bonds” with her guests and fellow guides since her hiring last year.
“Amanda’s passion and ability to genuinely connect with people, in addition to her leadership, made her a rising star at Backroads,” the Berkeley, Calif., firm said in a statement to The News.
“Our leaders have been reaching out to us today from across the globe to offer condolences and offers of support for Amanda’s family. We are all deeply saddened at this tragic loss,” it said.
Geissler’s family said she’d been working for Backroads since May and was excited to lead the holiday adventure in Costa Rica, which included visits to an active volcano and a 400-foot waterfall.
“Amanda is hard to describe in a short paragraph or a simple word or phrase. She was so much more than that. Her passion for life and adventurous spirit allowed her to truly live and experience more in her 33 years of life than many have the opportunity to,” the family said in a statement obtained by WQOW-TV.
They said Geissler was known for her “love for the outdoors, setting goals and crushing them and (her) adoration for her family and friends.”
“Amanda lived her life with no regrets and inspired so many others to consider the same,” they said.
A spokesman for the Thorp Police Department told The News Geissler attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where she played basketball.
The plane crashed in Guanacaste, Corozalito, Costa Rica, killing all 12 people onboard. (EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Her former coach Mark Noll expressed his condolences to her parents and sister on Facebook.
“Amanda was a very special person. One of the most kind (and) competitive people I have ever known,” he wrote.
Backroads said Monday that a second charter flight carrying Backroads guests and a different trip leader made it safely to San Jose after leaving Punta Islita.
Geissler’s friends also posted photos on Facebook as they shared treasured memories.
“Words cannot express what I have felt since hearing the news this morning about what happened to one of the most incredible people I have had the pleasure of calling my friend, Amanda Geissler,” friend KJ Jarvis wrote in a post.
“She was the one I could always count on to hit up a yoga class, bike while watching ‘The Bachelor,’ make dinner, watch countless episodes of ‘Sex & the City,’ or drink endless glasses of wine,” she said. “Her energy and love for life was infectious.”
The Scarsdale family killed in the crash was identified Sunday as Bruce and Irene Steinberg and their sons Matthew, William and Zachary.
Florida doctors Mitchell and Leslie Weiss also died with their two children, Hannah, 19, and Ari.
Hannah was pursuing a joint degree at Columbia University and List College, the undergraduate school of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
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