Relatives kick off cross-country motorcycle ride to honor Flight 93 victims

The flight originated in New Jersey and was bound for California when four terrorists hijacked it, and the motorcycle caravan will retrace the flight’s intended path. The caravan left Newark Liberty International Airport yesterday morning at 8:42 a.m. - the same time as the flight - and is to arrive in San Francisco on the eighth anniversary of the attacks.

The 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers crashed the plane as passengers fought to regain control of the cockpit, averting a possible attack on the White House or Capitol building. Thirty-three passengers and seven crew members died.

For Ken Nacke, 48, a police detective in Maryland, the cross-country trip, called “Ride with the Forty,’’ is a way to keep their memory alive. His older brother Louis “Joey’’ Nacke died in the crash.

“We’re completing their journey,’’ Nacke said.

The ride also will raise money for the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pa., where the plane crashed. The 2,200-acre memorial, which is expected to cost $58 million, is scheduled to open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

Eight motorcycles and nine passengers left Newark on the first leg of the cross-country journey yesterday. The first stop is Shanksville.

Nacke organized the ride and said anyone who cares about Flight 93 and Sept. 11 is welcome to join in all or part of the nine-day journey. At least 20 relatives and friends of the passengers and crew already are expected to participate, he said.

Sarah Wainio, 22, of Catonsville, Md., was the youngest participant yesterday. She was 14 when her 27-year-old sister, Honor Elizabeth Wainio, died aboard Flight 93. Wainio said she still thinks about her sister whenever she visits their favorite diner or hears her favorite music.