The roar of motorcycles will be heard at San Francisco International Airport today as family members of passengers of doomed Flight 93 finish a cross-country journey in memory of their loved ones.
United Flight 93 took off from Newark, N.J. on Sept. 11, 2001, bound for San Francisco. But it never made it.
Many people in the Bay Area had friends and family aboard the plane that crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers tried to take back control from the hijackers.
A small but determined band of motorcycle riders is expected to finish that journey in honor of their loved ones. The group will roll into SFO after a 3,000-mile coast-to-coast journey in memory of those who never got a chance to reach their final destination.
Loius "Joey" Nacke II was on Flight 93 that day, along with 39 others. His brothers, cousins and relatives of other passengers aboard the United jet joined together for the memorial ride, which started Sept. 3 in Newark at the same time Flight 93 lifted off that fateful day. They call their tribute Ride With the 40 and plan to end the trip at 11:15 a.m., the time Flight 93 was supposed to touch down at SFO.
"We're completing the journey for them as they ride with us." Joey's brother and ride organizer, Kenny Nacke said.
Nacke and the others stopped along the way throughout the country as they retraced the route their loved ones were supposed to complete.
The Ride With the 40 group is traveling with a tribute to the victims. They're carrying a a chain-link fence with mementos, to which people are invited to contribute. They are also aiming to raise awareness and $250,000 for the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial, scheduled to break ground in 2011.
