Alaska Airlines flight has rough landing; no injuries
     SEATTLE (September 2, 1997 02:05 a.m. EDT) -- The nose gear on
 an Alaska Airlines jet collapsed after the plane landed at Seattle-
 Tacoma International Airport late Monday, forcing the 116 passengers
 and crew to exit on emergency slides. No serious injuries were re-
 ported, however, airline spokesman Lou Cancelmi said.
     Flight 255 originated in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and was on its
 way to Spokane in eastern Washington after a stop in Los Angeles.
     Cancelmi said the plane landed without incident and was rolling
 when the gear collapsed about 9 p.m. The 111 passengers and five
 crew members got off the plane by using the slides.
     "My understanding is that there were no injuries, but I'm trying
 to get more information," Cancelmi said. "It's not untypical when
 you use slides to evacuate people ... for people to receive some
 cuts and bruises."
     The airport closed for about 10 minutes. Cancelmi said the cause
 of the collapse was being investigated.
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           Pilot and four skydivers killed in plane crash
     BREMERTON, Wash. (September 2, 1997 00:16 a.m. EDT) -- A small
 plane carrying four skydivers crashed into a ravine after takeoff
 and erupted in flames Monday, killing the pilot and all the
 skydivers.
     Witnesses indicated the single-engine Cessna 182 had engine
 trouble after takeoff and was trying to return to Bremerton National
 Airport, said state patrol Lt. Gary Leach.
     It crashed into a ravine at the airport and caught fire, he
 said.
     The plane owned by Blue Skies Skydiving Adventures had four
 skydivers aboard - three men and a woman ranging in age from 19
 to 57, said company spokesman Robert Turso. It was a little windy
 and cloudy, which Turso said was just right for skydiving.
     "They were all experienced divers out to have fun," Turso said.
     Another skydiver, Elaine Carroll, said about 30 people were
 making a series of jumps during a Blue Skies' end-of-summer party.
     Bremerton is 15 miles west of Seattle, across the Puget Sound.
 ------------------------------------------------------------------ ovt mulls 
selling part of Air France
     PARIS, France _ France's Socialist government is weighing plans
 to sell part of the national airline Air France, Le Monde newspaper
 reported over the weekend.
                         Air France Web
     "THE GOVERNMENT DOES not rule out opening quite soon the capital
 of Air France," the newspaper said in a report.
     A decision could be made before Sept. 12, when shareholders of
 Air France and of regional and European carrier Air France Europe
 meet to vote on approval of the merger between the two companies, Le
 Monde said.
     The government is trying to find a way to reconcile demands by
 Air France Chairman Christian Blanc for a rapid sale and the oppo-
 sition to such a sale by Communist Transport Minister Claude Gayssot,
 it said.
     There was no comment from the prime minister's office. France's
 previous conservative government had planned to privatize Air France,
 but the plan was thrown into question when the left took power in a
 June 1 parliamentary election. An Air France spokeswoman confirmed
 that airline shareholders would meet on Sept. 12 but declined to
 comment on the Le Monde report.
     Christian Blanc feels the status of Air France as a state-owned
 company limits its ability to forge international alliances and curbs
 its development. He has made its privatization his top priority and
 may be unwilling to remain at the helm of Air France if the company
 is not privatized, the newspaper said.
 --------------------------------------
        Death toll from Guam airliner crash rises to 228
     SEOUL (September 2, 1997 06:21 a.m. EDT) - Two more survivors of
 last month's crash of a Korean Air Lines jumbo jet in Guam have died,
 bringing the death toll in the tragedy to 228, a South Korean
 foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. 
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