Beverly Eckert, whose husband was killed in the September 11 attacks in 2001, was a passenger on the plane that crashed yesterday near Buffalo, New York, killing all those on board, her sister told a local newspaper.

Eckert's husband, Sean Rooney, was in one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City that were destroyed in the attacks by al Qaeda militants using hijacked jetliners.

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

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

Eckert, who lived in Connecticut and was a prominent member of a group called Voices of September 11, was traveling to Buffalo to celebrate what would have been her husband's 58th birthday, the newspaper said.

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

A representative of Voices of September 11 said she could not immediately confirm reports that Eckert was on the plane.