The Jetstar Airbus 330-200, the same model as the Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, was about four hours into its flight from Osaka to Australia’s Gold Coast when the pilots noticed a small flame and smoke in the cockpit near the window, airline spokesman Simon Westaway said.

A pilot used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire, which did not spread to the cabin, he said.

The plane, which was carrying 190 passengers and 13 crew members, landed without incident at Guamairl International Airport. The passengers, mostly Japanese tourists, were expected to board another plane and finish their journey to Australia later on Thursday.

Qantas, which owns the budget carrier, was sending engineers to Guam to inspect the plane, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will lead an investigation into the cause of the fire, Mr Westaway said.

Noone was hurt during the incident.

The incident involves the same plane model as this month’s Air France disaster when all 228 on board an A330 flying from Brazil were killed after a mystery accident over the Atlantic.

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Brazilian search teams have found more pieces to the puzzle where Air France flight 447 went after it disappeared off radar last week and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.

A large section the plane’s tail was found, as were the bodies of 24 of the 228 people abroad the flight, about 600 miles northeast of Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha islands. The US is also helping in the search; the Navy is sending equipment and manpower to search for the missing data recorders which could hold vital clue as to what exactly caused flight 447 to fall from the sky. Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula de Silva said his government is doing everything it can to recover all of the bodies – no survivors are expected – “because we know what it means for a family to recover their loved ones.”

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KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Marine Attack Squadron 211 on Monday became the first forward-deployed Marine unit to test-fire the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile.

The new generation missile was launched by one of the squadron’s AV-8 pilots over an ocean test range about 200 miles off Okinawa, said Chief Warrant Officer Brad J. Wilde, an ordnance officer for the squadron, which is based in Yuma, Ariz., and deployed to Okinawa with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The AMRAAM is a “supersonic, air launched, aerial intercept, guided missile employing active radar target tracking, proportional navigation guidance, and active radio frequency target detection,” according to the Federation of American Scientists Web site.

After a Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225 aircraft dropped four target drone gliders, Harrier pilot Capt. M.W. McKenney targeted one of the gliders and deployed the missile.

“It went off; it hit the target, the works,” said Master Sgt. Earnest Chaney, the squadron’s aviation ordnance chief. “It worked as advertised.” Sgt. Zachery Mathers, part of the ground crew servicing the Harrier that fired the missile, said he wasn’t overly impressed with getting a first in Marine Corps record books.

But, “it was exciting to be doing something new,” he said after helping load a missile under the Harrier’s wing before the test.

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SOUTHWEST ASIA – Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations June 3, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.

In Afghanistan, a flight of Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs hunted enemy snipers near Shahidan. Using smoke rounds to verify targets followed up with 30mm cannon strafes of each hostile position, the aircraft ended the sniper’s attack on Afghan and coalition forces.

Near Asadabad, Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and A-10s engaged during two anti-Afghan forces attacks on Afghan and coalition personnel. The F-15s used guided bomb unit-31s and a GBU-38 to take out a group of heavy grenade launchers manned by enemy personnel, then escorted a convoy with a damaged vehicle back to base. Nearby, A-10s dropped a series of GBU-38s to strike enemy forces in fighting positions along a treeline. The A-10 also performed a show of force to deter a second attack.

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