BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The final pieces of the Comair Flight 3272 wreckage are being arranged in a former nursery warehouse not far from the crash site in rural Monroe, Mich., according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Many of the key pieces - including the engines - will be shipped to their manufacturers, NTSB spokesman Paul Schlamm said Thursday. The rest of the wreckage is being cleaned, sorted and guarded in case it is needed in the investigation of what caused the Jan. 9 crash that killed all 29 people aboard. Meanwhile, investigators are looking at whether the Embraer 120 twin-engine turboprop was thrown out of control by turbulence from a jet passing overhead.

The jet flew 1,500 feet directly over the smaller plane, Michael Gearhart, vice president of market support for Embraer Aircraft Corp., told the Detroit Free Press for a story in today's editions.

Mr. Gearhart said he also has been told that air traffic controllers asked Flight 3272 to slow down so an approaching jet could land first at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

He said he got the information from Embraer's representative on the 56-member team investigating the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which is in charge of air traffic control, declined comment Thursday.

Comair Inc. spokeswoman Meghan Glynn said: ''Any theory right now is pure speculation.''

The engines of the Embraer 120 are being sent to the Pratt & Whitney Co. in Montreal.

Tests there might reveal why three controls, two levers and a backup switch that shuts the right engine off and activates a fire suppression system, were found to be on.

Mr. Schlamm confirmed Thursday that the investigation will include an examination of the craft's pitot (pronounced pe-toe) tube, a 4-inch-long device that protrudes from the wing and measures air pressure.

It is connected to the airspeed indicators in the cockpit, said Ohio State University aviation professor Richard Jensen.

The tube might be a factor because seconds before the crash the plane inexplicably slowed to near-stall level. A stall means an aircraft has lost the lift needed to keep it aloft.

The NTSB has acknowledged that a buildup of ice is a possible explanation for the plane suddenly slowing from 187 mph to 165 mph. The only way ice could impede the airspeed indicators, Mr. Jensen explained, is if it ''freezes'' the pitot tube.

''The airspeed can get stuck when that's iced up,'' Mr. Jensen said Thursday. ''That might explain why they had that slowdown - but again, it's just speculation.''

In related news, the funeral for flight attendant Darinda Lynn Ogden Nilsen, 26, of Lexington, formerly of Fort Thomas, will be noon Saturday at the First Baptist Church, Covington. Visitation will be 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday.

PROFILES OF VICTIMS
SEVEN DAYS OF CRASH COVERAGE

Victims

First Officer
Kenneth Reece
Fort Wright, Ky.

Flight Attendant
Darinda Ogden Nilsen
Lexington, Ky.

PASSENGERS
Adams, Dexter
Cincinnati

Barrow, Gregory
Detroit

Bransford, Roger
Sandy Springs, Ga.

Brice, Arthur
Brookhaven, Miss.

Brownlee, Christine
Helena, Mont.

Brownlee, Scott
Helena, Mont.

Davis, Geoffrey
Detroit.

DeMarco, Maureen
Englewood, Colo.

Douchard, Greg
Wesson, Miss.

Felteau, Leo
Atlanta

Herman, Mark
Novi, Mich.

Jones, Betty Jean
Detroit

Jones, Charles
McComb, Miss.

McClain, Steven
Waterford, Mich.

Muskovitz, Teri
West Bloomfield, Mich.

Passariello, Kim
Lake Havasu, Ariz.

Raymond, Roy
Twin Falls, Id.

Raymond, Vernamarie
Twin Falls, Id.

Rosiak, Jennifer
Fairbanks, Alaska

Rosiak, Nicholas
Fairbanks, Alaska

Sharangpani, Arati
Holland, Mich.

Stearn, Richard
Whitmore Lake, Mich.

Takenami, Keita
Lexington, Ky.

Thomas, Douglas
Detroit.

Wansedel, Charles
Mount Clemens, Mich.

Zagar, Darlene
Danville, Ky.