David Borner, of Pendleton was supposed to leave for a Florida cruise with his family Friday morning. That is how he came to be on Flight 3407, a neighbor said.

Originally, Borner planned to drive both ways for his business trip in New Jersey. But he was afraid he would get back too late to catch the early-morning flight plane to Florida for the family's cruise. So he hopped a flight.

In the weeks before he died, David M. Borner was helping a Buffalo News reporter gather information for a story about his daughter, Nicole, a star high school soccer player.

A loving father of two, Borner, 49, was a work-from-home salesman for Kraft Foods, and traveled extensively up and down the East Coast for Nicole's soccer games.

"He was very, very proud of her," said his wife, Cheryl Borner.

An avid outdoorsman and Pendleton resident, David Borner also loved spending time hunting, kayaking and fishing with his son, Michael, an eighth-grader at Starpoint Middle School.

The family kayaked during trips to Michigan to visit Cheryl's mother, and the family recently bought new kayaks, though David hadn't yet gotten the chance to use them, Cheryl Borner said.

David also spent time hunting with his father and brothers, and also hunted with Brad S. Green, a co-worker at Kraft who also died on Flight 3407.

Cheryl Borner said she plans to keep taking the family camping, though they're going to use tents instead of a camper.

"I can't back it in like he used to," she said.

Nicole Borner, a senior at Starpoint High School, is planning to play soccer for Binghamton

University in the fall.

— Aaron Besecker and Niki Cervantes