Prominent September 11 widow was on crashed NY plane

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Beverly Eckert, the widow of a September 11 victim and an advocate for survivors, died in the commuter plane crash near Buffalo, New York, relatives said.

Eckert met President Barack Obama in Washington last Friday along with other relatives of those killed in the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

"She was an inspiration to me and to so many others, and I pray that her family finds peace and comfort in the hard days ahead," Obama said on Friday.

Eckert, 57, became a prominent member of Voices of September 11, a group providing services for those affected by the attacks and promoting policy reforms on prevention, preparedness and responses to terrorism.

Her husband, Sean Rooney, died in the World Trade Center in New York, destroyed after al Qaeda hijackers seized jetliners and crashed them into the two towers in 2001.

The Buffalo News quoted Eckert's sister Sue Bourque as saying she was on the plane that crashed on Thursday evening, killing all 49 on board and one person on the ground.

"We know she was on that plane, and now she's with him," Bourque said.

Eckert, who lived in Connecticut, was traveling to Buffalo to celebrate what would have been her husband's 58th birthday, the newspaper said.

"She was a strong and passionate voice for the families of the 9/11 tragedy," U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said in a statement expressing condolences for the victims.

Continental Airlines had not yet released a list of passengers on Flight 3407, which was operated by Colgan Air.

(Reporting by Claudia Parsons; Editing by John O'Callaghan)