Nature Air Flight 9916 was a chartered domestic passenger flight from Punta Islita Airport in Nandayure, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, to Costa Rica's capital San José that crashed into terrain on 31 December 2017 shortly after takeoff from Punta Islita Airport killing all 12 people on board. The flight, with a planned duration of 40 minutes, was operated by Costa Rican regional airline Nature Air and the aircraft involved was a Cessna 208 B Caravan manufactured in 2001. On board the aircraft were 10 passengers, mostly American tourists, and 2 pilots. An NTSB investigation later determined that the accident was caused by the aircraft entering an aerodynamic spin/stall that was the result of pilot error. Nature Air permanently ceased operations following the accident. Accident flight The flight was one of two that had been chartered by Backroads Travel Company and took off from the airport at Punta Islita, a small beach town in on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica at 12:10 p.m local time. It was carrying 10 passengers, including two American families of tourists, plus two local pilots. The flight was destined for the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica's capital San José where the passengers would connect with an international flight to return home to the United States. The accident aircraft had arrived late in Punta Islita due to strong winds and on the outbound leg landed at an intermediate point at the airstrip in Tambor where pilots waited for better weather conditions. Seconds after departure, the aircraft swayed to the left. It then rolled, the wing clipped trees and the plane impacted rising terrain near the airport, exploded and burst into flames. The aircraft could not be contacted and was declared missing. Approximately at 12:30 p.m, emergency services near the airport received reports that the aircraft had crashed into the woods. Emergency service sent 20 vehicles, including ambulances and 45 firefighters. Tourists and locals who saw the crash also rushed to the crash site and assisted the rescue operation. Photos published from Costa Rica's Ministry of Public Security revealed that the aircraft was pulverized on impact. The fire chief of Nandayure, Hector Chavéz, stated that the scene was a "total destruction". It crashed inverted with no survivors. By 07:00 p.m local time, rescuers had recovered all the victims of the flight. Passengers and crews The victims were two families of American tourists, an American tour