Berkeley-based travel company guide killed in Costa Rica crash

BERKELEY >> A trip leader with a Berkeley-based vacation/tour planning company was one of the victims of a New Year’s Eve plane crash in Costa Rica that killed 12 people, 10 of them Americans.

Amanda Geissler, 33, a trip leader with Backroads, which describes itself as the “world’s No. 1 activetravel company,” was on the Nature Air flight headed from Punta Islita, on Costa Rica’s west coast, 70 miles to the capital city of San Jose, when the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan crashed in the Guanacaste Mountains just a few miles east of Punta Islita. The crash occurred about 10 minutes after takeoff.

Five members of a New York state family and four members of a Florida fam-

ily — all Backroads guests — died in Sunday’s accident. Two pilots, residents of Costa Rica, also were killed.

A second Nature Air flight carrying Backroads guests and another trip leader arrived safely in San Jose.

“Amanda was a first-year trip leader at Backroads, but despite her short tenure she built strong bonds and community among both fellow leaders and guests alike,” Backwoods spokeswoman Liz Einbinder said in an email Tuesday. “As one of our guests offered, ‘Amanda’s spirit and energy were simply refreshing.’ “

Geissler was also a standout college basketball player, a point guard with University of Wisconsin-Stout who helped lead that team to three regional conference titles in her four years on the team (2003 to 2007), according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Former UW-Stout assistant coach Erin Sullivan told the Associated Press Geissler wanted to travel and live a life filled with adventure.

Geissler, a Wisconsin native who most recently had lived in Chippewa Falls, had also led Backroads trips to Croatia, Spain and Portugal, Einbinder said.

Backroads has been leading trips to Costa Rica for 25 years.

“We are extremely heartbroken over this horrific loss of life and are working with the local authorities to understand the cause of the crash,” Einbinder wrote. “We have our entire Costa Rica team and a member of our executive team on the ground to assist in this tragedy.”

Fox News reported Tuesday that United States aviation officials and representatives of Cessna will collaborate in the accident investigation. The U.S. investigators were expected to start their work Wednesday.