The families had striking similarities: They lived in prosperous suburbs, had children in college, enjoyed exploring other cultures and were strongly involved in Jewish causes.

Both families — the Steinbergs, a family of five from Scarsdale, N.Y., and the Weisses, a family of four from Belleair, Fla. — were killed on Sunday when the single-engine turboprop they were traveling in crashed into a hill in Costa Rica shortly after takeoff. An American tour guide also died, as did two Costa Rican crew members.

The crash of the plane, a Cessna 208B Caravan traveling from Punta Islita, on the Pacific Coast, to San José, the capital, was the deadliest in Costa Rica since 1990.

“It is a devastating loss to their families and to our congregation,” said Rabbi Jacob Luski of Congregation B’nai Israel of St. Petersburg, Fla., who in a phone interview on Monday confirmed the deaths of husband and wife Mitchell Weiss, 52, and Leslie L. Weiss, 50; their daughter, Hannah M. Weiss, 19; and their son, Ari M. Weiss, 16.