A Garland family is grieving this week for Jaysen Underhill, who died last week along with the manager of the Mid-Way Regional Airport near Midlothian when their single-engine plane crashed.
Mr. Underhill, 31, and Juan Martinez, 64, both experienced pilots, were en route from Mid-Way to Fredericksburg, Texas, when the plane went down across the Mexican border near Eagle Pass.
Michelle Underhill, of Garland, said she met her husband in high school.
"He had a neighbor who was a pilot and would take Jaysen up," she said. "He loved it."
She said her husband was due to return Thursday to attend the funeral of her best friend, who had died in a traffic accident.
Ms. Underhill quit working as a nurse in 2001 when their son, Kevin, was born premature and spent two months in the hospital.
She said Mr. Underhill, who worked for a flight school at the airport, had to take a second job to make ends meet, but spent all his free time with his family.
She is expecting their second child in June.
"I'm really glad that he pursued a career that he loved," she said. "It is much better knowing it was something he had a passion for."
According to Carol Walker, a flight instructor at Mid-Way, investigators are trying to determine why the men's plane apparently flew in a straight line beyond their destination.
Ms. Walker said Mr. Martinez was flying the airplane to Fredericksburg as a favor to a pilot who wanted to sell it. Mr. Martinez was taking it for a "pre-buy" inspection by the prospective buyer and planned to fly back the same day.
Ms. Walker praised Mr. Martinez's management of the airport.
"This area after the [Superconducting] Super Collider closed was nothing," she said. "Juan took over in 1998 and turned it around. He was an unbelievable asset."
She said it was no surprise that he'd offered to do someone a favor.
"He was like that," she said.
Funeral arrangements for Mr. Underhill are tentatively set for Thursday at First Methodist Church in Garland.
Staff writer Richard Abshire contributed to this report.
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