Flight Attendant Was Not Supposed to Be on Doomed D.C. Plane, Ex-Wife Says (Exclusive)

• American Airlines flight attendant Ian Epstein was one of the 67 people killed in the midair plane crash over Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, according to his family
• His ex-wife Debi tells PEOPLE she learned Ian, 53, was not originally supposed to be on the flight, but had changed his shift
• “He absolutely loved being a flight attendant,” Debi adds. “He was a character. He was a comedian. He enjoyed putting on a show, and he did”

Flight attendant Ian Epstein, one of the 67 victims of the D.C. plane crash, was not originally scheduled to be on that American Airlines flight, according to his ex-wife.

Debi Epstein, a 58-year-old mortgage lender from Harrisburg, N.C., tells PEOPLE that she found out from one of Ian’s co-workers that he had switched shifts so he could go golfing the Sunday before the crash, which took place on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

“This was not his line,” Debi adds. “This was not a flight he was supposed to be on.”  

Debi says Ian had a “passion” for traveling, which led him to become a flight attendant in February 2020. 

“He wanted to do it so badly, and I wanted him to have his dream,” she says. “He absolutely loved being a flight attendant.”

She even remembers that at one point he told her, “I’d rather die doing what I love than not do it.” 

“And he did,” she added. “He died doing absolutely what he loved. He loved interacting with people. He loved traveling. … He was a character. He was a comedian. He enjoyed putting on a show, and he did. He brought that to being a flight attendant and greeting everybody with a smile and just making them feel comfortable flying.”

Ian and Debi met at a club in New York City in 1997. The two wed two years later, and share four kids together: two daughters they welcomed together and two daughters from Debi’s previous marriage. 

In a touching tribute, Debi tells PEOPLE that their youngest daughter, who is getting married on April 12, wants the wings her father had on at the time of the crash “because she wants to wear them” on her wedding day.

Additionally, Debi says she had her wedding rings “remade” for her daughter so she’ll have a piece of her father with her forever.

“He was just excited… that she was going to be happy,” she adds, “marrying the person that he knew that she really loved and that really loves her.” 

Ian’s personality also came out at his previous job with Camping World, where Debi says he was “one of the top three in the country for sales because of his personality.”

“He was just so outgoing and just tried to get on the same level with everybody that he met,” she tells PEOPLE. 

Following his death, Debi says it’s been comforting to see the impact Ian had on others. “We didn’t realize just how much he was touching people’s lives,” she says, sharing that the outpouring of support the entire family has received is “kind of getting us through this at this point.”

Family members will hold a funeral following Jewish traditions for Ian, who just turned 53 in December, as soon as his body is released by authorities, according to Debi.

Ian was irreplaceable, she says, noting that though they divorced in 2022, they both still cared about each other.

She adds, “I know he loved me, and I know I still loved him.”