Award named for Flight 3407 victim

CLARENCE CENTER, N.Y. (WIVB) - The families of 9/11 are reaching out to others joined together by the tragedy of Flight 3407.

The September 11th Educational Trust in New York honored the late Beverly Eckert with an award in her name Thursday night. Eckert's husband Sean Rooney died in the 9/11 attacks. Beverly lost her own life when Flight 3407 crashed in Clarence Center in 2009.

She was returning to western New York to award a scholarship in her late husband's memory at the time.

Beverly's sister, Karen Eckert, said, "No one will fill Beverly's shoes. And what she did for the 9/11 families and all the 9/11 families. We are so moved and so grateful."

The first Beverly Eckert Service Award was presented Thursday night to the families of Flight 3407, for their crusade to make our skies safer. Federal law, passed one year after the crash, will require pilots to have more flight hours under their belt before they can fly a commercial plane.