July 31, 1991

WHILE other sixth graders play on Little League teams and dream of pitching in Yankee Stadium, Ethan Dwyer flies airplanes and dreams of being a Navy pilot. He is a star student of Cloud Chasers, a tiny, year-old aviation program intended to show that young people can be trained to be capable pilots. The students -- the first class was made up of three 12-year-olds -- learn all aspects of flying single-engine aircraft, from fixing engines to coming out of a spinning dive. They have each accumulated hundreds of hours flying small propeller planes, studying the regulations and physics of flight, and working on repair jobs. All fly with instructors, since by law student pilots must be 16 before they can fly solo.

An oil spill from a ship collision has fouled ocean beaches in Olympic National Park, threatening a vast population of sea birds and marine mammals that live in this spectacular setting in the far northwest corner of continental America. The oil is gushing from a Japanese fish-processing vessel that sank July 22 after a collision with a Chinese freighter 22 miles northwest of the tip of Washington State.

Crossland Savings, one of the largest savings institutions in New York state, announced yesterday that its losses from bad loans had accumulated to the point that it had agreed with Federal regulators to seek a merger with a stronger company. Until a partner is found, the Brooklyn-based savings bank will remain open for business, and its deposits will continue to be insured up to the maximum of $100,000 per account allowed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Companies Just hours before T.W.A. faced seizure of its planes, Carl Icahn averted a showdown by reaching a tentative agreement with creditors. The deal is expected to force a temporary bankruptcy proceeding and calls for Icahn to give up majority control. [ Page A1. ] Crossland Savings will seek a merger with a stronger banking company, agreeing with Federal regulators to do so because its losses from bad loans had grown so large. [ D1. ]

Private Mideast Promises Washington gave Israel and Syria private assurances to persuade them to attend talks, American, Arab and Israeli officials say. Page A6.