Canadian, French military planes ‘came into contact’ at Guam air base – National | 24CA News
An worldwide investigation is underway after a Canadian army plane and French air drive airplane “came into contact” at a U.S. air base in Guam final week, Canada’s defence ministry says.
The Department of National Defence advised Global News the incident occurred Friday on the ramp at Anderson Air Force Base “in which the two aircraft came into contact.”
Those two plane had been a Canadian CC-150 Polaris army transport airplane and a French Air and Space Force A400M, which can be used as a army transport plane.
“There was no one on board the Canadian aircraft at the time and there are no reported casualties,” Daniel Le Bouthillier, a spokesperson for the division stated in an announcement Monday.
The Canadian, French and U.S. air forces are investigating what occurred.
Le Bouthillier didn’t say precisely how the incident occured, or element the extent of the harm to the Canadian or French plane.
“As the matter is still being investigated through the flight safety investigation process, we cannot comment on the potential cause of the damage,” he stated.
Global News has reached out to the French Ministry of Defence for additional info on what occurred.
The Pentagon referred questions in regards to the incident to Anderson Air Force Base, whose press workplace didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
This isn’t the primary time a Canadian airplane has been concerned in an incident at an air base.
In 2019, one other CC-150 Polaris — the one mostly used to move the prime minister, governor common and different high-ranking dignitaries — crashed into an plane hangar in Trenton, Ont.
According to a army incident abstract, that plane was stopped and awaiting a tow into the hangar with each the parking brake and chocks — wedges meant to forestall the wheels from rolling — in place.
But the airplane started rolling by itself, proper over the chocks, and its nostril collided with the hangar wall whereas the suitable engine of the plane hit a tow tractor contained in the hangar.
The plane sustained “serious damage,” the army stated on the time, and was grounded for a number of months for repairs.
Canada operates 5 Polaris plane, which have been in service since 1992, for army, medical and diplomatic transport. Two of the plane additionally provide air-to-air refueling.
The federal authorities is presently working to exchange that fleet with six newer-model plane.
Last yr, Defence Minister Anita Anand introduced her division had bought its first alternative plane, two Airbus A330-200 planes in-built 2015 at a value of US$102 million. Those two planes are anticipated to reach in Canada by the top of this yr.
The division intends to acquire a complete of six newer army transport plane for the brand new fleet.
DND stated Monday the Polaris plane concerned within the incident at Anderson Air Force Base had been in Guam to return Canadian army members who had been participating within the U.S. Air Force’s Exercise Mobility Guardian.
The U.S. Air Force describes the train because the Air Mobility Command’s “largest, and arguably most challenging, exercise in years” designed to make sure fight readiness and “wartime contingency” within the Indo-Pacific area.
Canada has vowed to extend its army presence within the area as a part of its bigger Indo-Pacific technique.
— with information from Global’s Amanda Connolly
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
