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“Beverly lost her husband on 9/11. And became a tireless advocate for those families whose lives were forever changed on that September day,” he said. “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."

This afternoon, officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they had found two black boxes at the crash site, and had sent them back to Washington for analysis.

The boxes are expected to be crucial to ascertain why the plane crashed. "They have been found and they are on their way back," NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said.

Dave Bissonette, the emergency control director in Clarence Center said that the scene was devastating but could have been worse had the aircraft landed at a different angle and destroyed several houses.

"The fuselage of the plane lies directly on the footprint of the house. It basically dove right into the top of the house," he said at a press conference. "It’s remarkable that it only took one house, as devastating as that was. It could have easily wiped out that entire neighbourhood."

Chris Collins, the Erie county executive, said that the first firefighters to arrive immediately began a search for bodies despite the soaring temperatures. "They were shouting out to see if there were any survivors on the plane. Truly a very heroic effort, but there were no survivors," he said.

The flight was carrying 5,000lb of fuel when it hit the house and burst into a fireball.

The Buffalo News named the two people who escaped as Karen Wielinski, 57, and her daughter, Jill, 22. It said that they were in a stable condition in hospital. They were reportedly on the ground floor at the time. The person who died was on the second floor.

Residents of Clarence — an affluent area about 10 miles from the airport — reported hearing the sound of a groaning, spluttering sound and then a massive explosion.

One person said that it sounded like an earthquake. "The whole sky was lit up orange," Bob Dworak, who lives less than a mile from the crash site, said. "There was a big bang, and the house shook."

Laurie Bennett, of the Buffalo division of the FBI, said that the FBI collect the "loved ones that were lost and their personal effects".

The disaster was the first crash involving a commercial airliner in the US since August 27, 2006, when 49 people died when a Comair jetliner came off the runway in Lexington, Kentucky.

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