MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — Japan Air Self-Defense Force officials are investigating why a JASDF C-130 aircraft ran off the taxi-way at Misawa Air Base on Monday.

The plane left the taxi-way on the west side of the flight line after landing with personnel and cargo on board, according to Maj. Noriyuki Note, a JASDF 3rd Air Wing spokesman based at Misawa. No injuries or damage was reported, Note said.

JASDF crews were able to get the plane back on the airstrip. Note said the plane was kept at the base for an inspection.

Assigned to the 1st Tactical Airlift Group at Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture, the C-130 was expected to be returned to Komaki as early as Wednesday if no problems are found with the aircraft, Note said.

Magnitude-6.2 quake hits Guam

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake shook Guam on Wednesday but produced no immediate reports of injuries or major structural damage.

The quake sent residents scurrying out of buildings around 12:30 p.m., according to news reports.

The earthquake’s epicenter was 35 miles west of Rota and 40 miles north of Hagatna, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site.

Rota Mayor Benjamin Manglona said he had received no reports of injuries as of Wednesday afternoon, according to local reports.

U.S. Naval Forces Marianas officials were not immediately available for comment.

College financial aid seminar at Camp Foster

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Kubasaki High School’s guidance department has scheduled a college financial aid seminar to educate parents and future college students.

The seminar is scheduled for Wednesday in the Kubasaki High School media center from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Topics addressed will include: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, tuition costs for public universities compared to private universities, Pell grants, Stafford loans, PLUS loans, Perkins loans, federal supplemental educational grants, federal work study programs and more.

F-15s back in Alaska

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Thirteen F-15 aircraft returned home to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, on Wednesday, including one that had been involved in an October midair collision with another F-15 over waters near Okinawa.

While one of the aircraft involved in the collision was disassembled, the other conducted training flights over Okinawa Jan. 21 and Jan. 26.

News of the flights led to an emergency meeting and formal protest last week from the Tripartite Council, composed of city councils from nearby Chatan Town, Kadena Town and Okinawa City. Officials were upset that the Air Force had not notified them the aircraft was flying again over Okinawa. The F-15 flew without error after servicemembers replaced the aircraft’s damaged vertical stabilizer, an Air Force spokesman said.

The F-15s’ return from their temporary Kadena assignment had been scheduled for a long time and was unrelated to the Okinawan protest, according to an Air Force spokeswoman.

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