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This is just tragic...


Sept. 11 widow killed in Buffalo plane crash
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer 14 mins ago

WASHINGTON - Up until the very last moments of her life, Sept. 11 widow Beverly Eckert poured her grief into action - pushing presidents, lawmakers and even herself to do more to make the country safer.

Eckert was on a commuter plane approaching the Buffalo airport Thursday night when it nose-dived into the ground, killing all aboard and one person on the ground.

President Barack Obama, speaking in the White House's East Room Friday, said Eckert "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."

Just a week before her death, Eckert met with Obama at the White House as part of a group of 9/11 families and relatives of those killed in the bombing of the USS Cole, discussing how the new administration would handle terror suspects.

Eckert was traveling to Buffalo to celebrate what would have been her late husband Sean Rooney's 58th birthday.

Former 9/11 Commissioner Tim Roemer said her passing was "a profound loss for the country."

The grim circumstances of her death were hard to accept, particularly for those who lost loved ones in the 2001 terror attacks.

"The fact that it was a plane crash, it was fire, it was reminiscent of 9/11 that way, that's just very difficult," said Carol Ashley, a retired schoolteacher from Long Island whose daughter died at the World Trade Center.