Canadian military plane that smashed into French plane had only been 'partially secured': report

A Canadian military airbus caused serious damage when it collided with a French military plane on an airstrip in Guam earlier this summer after the crew didn't fully secure the aircraft, says a recent report on the incident.

The Royal Canadian Air Force saysa CC150 Polaris flew to Guam on July 21 to pick up Canadian military members who had been taking part in a multinational exercise in the Indo-Pacific.

The aircraft, which was loaded with equipment and baggage, landed in Guam around 9:45 p.m. local time and was scheduled to take off the following day, according to an occurrence summaryposted online last week.

The crewfrom 8 Wing Trentonleft the airfield for a rest, leaving the aircraft "partially secured (without chocks)," said the report.

"At approximately 10:30 local the following morning the aircraft began to roll backwards, nose veering to the left, and continued to roll," said the report.

The right horizontal and vertical stabilizers of the Canadian planehit the tail of the French Air Force A400M.

"Following contact the CC150 rebounded forward coming to rest approximately eight metres from the point of impact," said the report.

"Both aircraft sustained serious damage."

No personnel were reported injured.

The air force said the initial review did not reveal any evidence of technical issues with the aircraft and an investigation will now focus "on procedures, communications and human factors."

It's not clear yet whether Canada will have to reimburse France for the damage.

"The course of action for the aircraft in question is still being determined," saidDepartment of National Defence spokespersonDaniel Le Bouthillier in an email.

The Polaris fleet is made up of five convertedAirbus A310-300sused by high-ranking government officials, including the prime minister and the Governor General. They also can be used for military, freight or medical transport.

The Guam incident wasn'tthe first time a Canadian VIP plane rolled into trouble.

According to the air force, the aircraftthat usually shuttles the prime minister to and from world events suffered "significant" structural damage to its nose and right-engine cowling when itrolled into the back wall of a hangar in October 2019, knocking it out of commission.

Canada's aircraftwoes getting international attention

This recent crash is just the latest blow to Canada's VIP air fleet.

Issues with the prime minister's aging plane grabbed international headlines after Justin Trudeau was delayed leaving the G20 in India due to maintenance issues.

Trudeau's plane was set to depart for Ottawa on Sunday but the plane was grounded when pre-flight checks revealed a part was faulty and needed to be replaced.

The Royal Canadian Air Force sent a CC-150 Polaris to India from CFB Trenton Sunday night to pick up Trudeau and the Canadian delegation. A Challenger jet was sent as a contingency.

In the meantime, a technician with a replacement part was flown over on a commercial flight and the plane was able to take off Tuesday morning.

For security reasons, the prime minister does not fly commercial.

Pilots need training before flying new fleet: DND

The Polaris fleet is more than 30 years old and its lifespan is set to end in 2027. Government officials say extending that further would be extremely difficult due to the age of the technology.

In July, the federal government purchased nine transport planes, some new and some used, to replace the existing fleet.

The first of those planes arrived in Ottawa on Aug. 31. So why wasn't it used on this trip?

According to National Defence officials, aircrew conversion training mustbe completed before the aircraft can enter service.

Canadian crews have been training to fly the new aircraft in the United Kingdom since January. It takes about three months of training on average to geta Polaris pilotready to fly the new Airbus, National Defence officials said in a background briefing for reporters earlier this summer.

The 24 Sussex of the sky

While the United States'Air Force One has appearedin films and on TV, Canada's VIP plane was once referred to as "Air Farce One" by former prime minister Jean Chrtien.

Like the debate over what to do with 24 Sussex, the official residence of Canada's prime ministers, conversations about replacing or spending money on the fleethave been dogged bycontroversy.

Afterattacking thenprime minister Brian Mulroney for paying $56 million to convert the plane into a VIP transport,Chrtiennever used the upgraded CanForce Oneduring his time in office. He nicknameditthe flying "Taj Mahal."

Chrtientried, and failed, to sell the aircraft. Eventually, the plane's cabinwas downgraded and used by his successor Paul Martin.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper was criticized for spending $50,000to paint the grey planered, white and blue, The NDPopposition said the paint job was a flying advertisement for the Conservative Party.NDP MP Pat MartinaccusingHarper of playing "Pimp My Ride" with the official aircraft.

Trudeau himselfhas had a rough ride with maintenance issues.

A 2016 trip was cut short due to a flap issue. Trudeau was on his way to sign the Canada-Europe free trade deal in Belgium when the aircraft was forced to return to Ottawa after half an hour in the air.

Another trip to India, this one in 2018, was delayed because of a mechanical issue during a refuelling stop in Rome.