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Grand Canyon visitors Consortium seeks state permit for H3H Mostly sunny HIGH 105 LOW 85 Page B6 Ularge Schoti banned from ballpark II decline toll roads 4 THE AEEZOMA EEPUEOC Edition 500 Copyright 1996, The Aruona Republic British Open begins today Phoenix, Arizona Thursday, July 18, 1996 107th year, No. 61 TIT! TITVV I rTt Tl Tt TWA todies Boeing 747 Plummets into water with 229 on board Fireball splashes into sea SEATS: 490 passengei TOP SPEED: 589 mph FINAL MOMENTS Flight 800, a 747, exploded in midair 20 miles south of Long Island. The aircraft was en route to Paris' Charles DeGaulle airport carrying 212 passengers and 17 crew. 1 TWA Flight 800 takes off from JFK Airport en route to Paris at approximately 8 p.m. EDT.

2. Eyewitness reports say that initially, a fireball was sighted. The flare disappeared and an explosion was heard. 3. A burst of flames was seen.

A second burst of flames occurred almost immediately after. 4. The plane began to rotate on one wing, falling into the ocean. 5. Within minutes of the plane disappearance from radar screens, the Coast Guard began sending rescuers to the The 7471s 231 feet long with a wingspan of 196 feet.

Source: Jane's World Aircraft, Knight-Riddsr Tribune area. i newCyork C0NNECTICUT RHODE ivew naven Sv' SLAND Speculation about cause often wrong By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post WASHINGTON The history of major airplane-crash probes demonstrates more than anything else that the initial speculation about the cause of a crash may turn out to be wrong whether suspicion falls first on mechanical failure, pilot error or political terrorism. In an age when a human hand is found behind many calamities, and when the June 25 terrorist bombing of U.S. airmen in Saudi Arabia remains fresh in the mind, the thoughts of a jittery public about such crashes may turn first to the possibility of deliberate sabotage.

See SPECULATION, page AS Wire reports CENTER MORICHES, N.Y. A TWA jumbo jet bound for Paris with 229 people aboard exploded in a terrifying ball of fire and plunged into the waters off Long Island shortly after takeoff Wednesday night. There was no early indication of survivors. The 747 jet, Flight 800, was bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport from Kennedy Airport when it went into the Atlantic Ocean 20 miles off Moriches Inlet at about 8:45 p.m. The site off the island's south shore is about 40 miles east of New York City.

Horrified residents of toney resort towns up and down the Long Island shore heard a thunderous clap and watched as the airliner, heavily laden with fuel, blew up, lighting the summer sky and bursting into flaming bits that plummeted to the water. "It was a big orange fireball," one eyewitness, Eileen Daly, was quoted as saying. "My initial reaction was: 'What is it? Oh, my God, it's an Despite early unofficial speculation on national television about See TWA JET, page AS VN I Greenwich, Long Island Sound By James Barrow New York Times Rocking on the water in his 17-foot runabout, Victor Fehner wondered who was shooting flares in the sky. Until that moment, it had been just another hot summer night. Fehner, a 47-year-old telephone-cable splicer, had been out fishing, as usual.

The sky was getting dark, and he was about to give up. He had decided to rev up his outboard engine and head back to the shore. Then, he saw the flash overhead and watched a fireball that grew larger and larger before it divided in two, 'with each piece falling in a different direction. "It looked like a little flame" at first, he said. "All of a sudden, it blew up in a tremendous ball of fire.

Actually two. The big ball of flame kept going down, just like you see in the movies, with one wing going down, rotating. You could see black smoke trailing behind it." See PLANE, page AS (J IWIinUIJ newjersey 41 LONG ISLANtTsC Atlantic Ocean ft I A Ik 1 1 1 at a i M. 1 ILL MlVJ-westharnpton Beach Morlches inlet 20 miles 20 km 1 72 21 Staff artists vsj 1 yjwTK Quorum showdown kills prosecutor bill GOP lawmakers try to force Dem to vote Murdoch acquires Channel 10 TV empire expands with 10 more stations By Dave Walker Staff writer Multimedia baron Rupert Murdoch upped his Arizona ante Wednesday, announcing the purchase of Channel 10 (KSAZ) as part of a 10-station, $2.48 billion stock acquisition of New World Communications Group which owns the local Fox affiliate. With the acquisition, Murdoch's News Corp.

media empire would become the nation's largest owner of TV stations, with outlets reaching nearly 40 percent of all U.S. television viewers. In May 1994, News Corp. bought a piece of New World, a Georgia-based station group and TV-production company that, in turn, threw 10 of its stations By Pamela Manson and Kris Mayes Staff writer A bill authorizing the appointment of special prosecutors to investigate public officials crashed and burned Wednesday after Republican lawmakers tried to force a Democrat into voting so they'd have a quorum. The measure, which is aimed at Attorney General Grant Woods, died without a vote.

Sen. Robert Chastain, D-Kearny, stood defiantly in the hallway outside the hearing room in which the state Senate committee was meeting and refused requests to take his seat. Republicans were so incensed that they asked the sergeant-at-arms to force him to come in. The showdown came on the first day of a special legislative session that was filled with high drama. It started with Senate President John Greene, who sponsored the special prosecutor See QUORUM, page AH Paul F.

GeroStaff photographer Channel 10 anchor John Hook (left) edits a story with Bil Ossher. KSAZ officials say there will be little change evident to viewers because of the acquisition. still are being felt. Murdoch's purchase of New World stations is not expected to generate the industrywide jolt produced in 1994. A mergerbuyout was rumored throughout the spring, and no further affiliation around the country to the Fox television network.

One of them was Channel 10, at the time a CBS affiliate and local ratings contender. Channel 10 since has fallen on comparatively hard times. Other aftershocks from that deal three of the four major networks changed Phoenix affiliates John SamoraStaff photographer A report of an investigation sparked an emotional defense from Senate President John Greene (right), conferring with an aide. See MEDIA, page A6 US. holds Olympians Colangelo's teams to feel loss of Teets Dial to retain stake in Diamondbacks INSIDE Astrology C4 Bridge C4 Business El Chuckle A2 B6 Classified CL1 Comics CL13, CLI6 to a higher standard should be to unite the world.

But By Thomas O'Toole C4 C4 B4 CI Bl CL15 A2 C4 Dl Dear Abby Dr. Gott Editorial Life Montini Obituaries Prayer Puzzles Sports Television Weather and Guido H. Stempel III Scripps Howard When it comes to how their Olympic athletes compete and conduct themselves, Americans set the bar quite high. They say that Olympians represent the highest ideals in sports, insist that they be clean of performance-enhancing drugs and prefer that highly paid professionals keep out. And, according to a nationwide poll of 1,025 Americans by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University, they overwhelmingly think that the true purpose of the Olympic Games they want the United States to win the Games.

"People are saying that the Olympics have a way of bringing the world together that politically you can't do," said Dick Schultz, executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "But we've also found that when you talk about the U.S. Olympic team, it really stirs up patriotic emotions." Be prepared for a month of flag-waving, starting Friday with opening ceremonies in Atlanta. The Games end Aug.

4. This will be the first full house, See AMERICANS, page A 12 By Eric Miller Staff writer For nearly a decade, John Teets and Dial Corp have been a financial oasis for the desert pro-sports franchises of Jerry Colan-gelo. Now, one of the watering holes is drying up. Teets, who announced his retirement as Dial chairman and chief executive on Tuesday, will depart by the end of the year as head of a corporate power that has been a moral supporter and dominant financial force in the operation of both the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Although Teets' exit may not affect the pair's friendship, it will have a bearing on the symbiotic business relationship of Colangelo, Teets and Dial.

The Phoenix-based consumer-products company said Tuesday that it plans to sell off its 25 percent interest in the Suns. On Wednesday, Dial said it plans to retain the $10 million investment it has in the Diamondbacks. "That's part of our community involvement," Dial spokesman Bill Peltier said. "We're going to maintain that." Dial also plans to continue its sponsorship of television broadcasts See COLANGELO, page A15 MONTINI: Sports worthy of the Olympics. Bl.

SWEATING THE GAMES: Coping with Atlanta's heat, humidity. CI. CASSTEVENS: The glut of games. 01. GOLD-MEDAL SCOOTERS: Valley Vespas to prowl Atlanta.

El. OLYMPICS TV MAGAZINE The first of 18 special sections on the centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. DAILY.