Georges Abu Karam, 27, from Tiberias, Israel, was on his way to visit his cousin, Joumana, and her husband, Raymond Balijan, in Buffalo when he boarded Flight 3407. It was his first trip to the United States.

Abu Karam was born in Klayaa, Lebanon. He first arrived in the lakeside city of Tiberias in 2000, when Israeli troops pulled out of south Lebanon and many men in the South Lebanon Army fled after them, fearing retribution if they stayed behind, a friend, Aviv Omer, told Israel Radio.

"He was an amazing person and he acclimated himself very quickly in Israel," a friend said.

"You could say that he didn't just fit in, he led," Omer told the radio station. "He was always surrounded by friends, always smiling. He had presence. He was a big man. He worked as a security guard after the SLA. He always tried to look tough and project confidence, but inside he had a heart as soft as butter, a heart of gold."

Laizer Labkovski, a rabbi with the Chabad movement in Buffalo, said Abu Karam's cousin was at the airport to pick up him up when he learned of the crash.

Abu Karam is survived by his mother, Hend; and four sisters, Naife, Dalia, Jacqualine and Joceline.