When he wasn't flying Comair planes, First Officer Kenneth V. Reece, 28, spent his time turning his house into a home.

In August, he purchased a home on Morris Road in Fort Wright for $78,000.

He and fiancee Pamela Mockbee, formerly of Anderson Township, lived in the red-brick house.

''We all really feel a sense of loss in our lives,'' neighbor Jack Richter said Friday. ''He was a great neighbor and a good person. ''We always said hello and chatted.''

Comair pilot David Buck of Union flew with Mr. Reece last week to Charleston, S.C., and back.

''I know he was a good pilot. When you fly with someone you know whether they were competent,'' Mr. Buck said.

During their stint that day, the two pilots talked about Mr. Reece's new, two-story house.

''He was just doing things to customize it to make it his house,'' Mr. Buck said.

The house sits near the top of Morris Road's incline.

''He was real excited because this was the first house he had purchased,'' Mr. Richter said. ''He was the type of person you'd like to see get settled in the neighborhood and have children and start a family.''

A green garden hose hangs on the house's left side. The garage door wears a fresh coat of white paint. Behind it sits Mr. Reece's pride.

''He had a hobby of restoring antique cars and he had an Anglia that my 11-year-old son found fascinating,'' Mr. Richter said.

This fall Mr. Reece's father towed a classic English Ford to Northern Kentucky from the Monterey, Calif., suburb of Carmel, where Kenneth Reece grew up.

Last fall, Mr. Reece and his father spent hours in the driveway polishing the vehicle.