Replacement plane sent to India to pick up PM, delegation after maintenance issue
CBC
The Royal Canadian Air Force sent a CC-150 Polaris to India from CFB Trenton Sunday night to pick up Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian delegation after the plane that took him there suffered a maintenance problem.
According to a statement from National Defence, the issue involves a part that must be replaced.
"The safety of all passengers is critical to the RCAF and pre-flight safety checks are a regular part of all of our flight protocols," said the statement.
"The discovery of this issue is evidence that these protocols are effective."
The goal is a Tuesday morning (New Delhi time) departure, however, a spokesperson for the prime minister said the situation remains fluid.
The issue with the CC-150 Polaris was discovered during the preflight checking process on the 36-year-old plane. This is not the first time the aging Polaris fleet has caused issues for Trudeau during his time in office.
A problem in October 2016 required the aircraft to return to Ottawa 30 minutes after taking off with Trudeau, who was en route to Belgium to sign the Canada-Europe free trade deal.
In October 2019, the VIP plane rolled into a wall while being towed into a hangar at 8 Wing Trenton, sustaining "significant structural damage to the nose and right engine cowling," according to the Air Force.
The plane was out of service for several months that year. A backup aircraft was used to take Trudeau to the NATO summit in December 2019, but it was grounded in London when the Air Force discovered a problem with one of the engines.
The federal government has purchased nine planes, some new, and some used, to replace its existing fleet, the first of which arrived in Ottawa on Aug. 31.
But two of the used Airbus A-330s from Kuwait Airways purchased by the RCAF won't include the prime minister's traditional VIP quarters until a retrofit that may not come for two years or more.
The widebody jets will replace RCAF's 1980s-era Airbus A-310s also known as the Airbus CC-150 Polaris, the aging aircraft used for the prime minister's trips abroad and for transporting military personnel.
Canadian crews have been training to fly the new aircraft in the United Kingdom since January. On average, it takes about three months of training for a Polaris pilot to be ready to fly the new Airbus, according to National Defence officials.
The replacement planes are expected to go into service sometime this fall, which will also include providing personal transport for the governor general.
More Albertans are waiting longer than clinically recommended for critical cardiac and cancer surgeries, sparking concern among health experts and calls for urgent action.
There have been four collisions involving transport trucks in northwestern Ontario in three days, prompting renewed calls for action to address ongoing safety concerns along Highway 11-17.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives will huddle behind closed doors at a policy convention this weekend as some Tories question the party’s direction after nearly eight years in power.
The father of a three-year-old girl that was killed after being struck by a vehicle in Cambridge in mid-December says recent charges laid to the driver bring little comfort and relief.
The start of kindergarten can be a time of excitement or anxiety for parents, guardians and children — and also for Prince Edward Island's education officials as they try to staff schools appropriately.
Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC)’s proposed hydro project is facing some backlash in Pangnirtung.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will take to the stage Friday for what could be one of the most important speeches of his political career as he tries to convince delegates at the party's Calgary convention to keep him in the job.
As his flight departed from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport en route to Kuwait via Istanbul, Canadian crypto fugitive Andean Medjedovic was unaware that his globe-trotting lifestyle would soon be halted.
One of the largest taxi companies in Toronto will be down to three wheelchair-accessible cabs by the end of March, as advocates and providers say the city is failing to support accessible taxi drivers.
As a deep freeze continues to envelop southwestern Ontario at the same time municipalities deal with a pressing shortage of road salt, there's a renewed focus on finding different ways to melt road ice.
Dave Lawson is a proud Canadian who has bumper stickers that say "Canada is not for sale." He's fed up with grocery products plastered with maple leaves and patriotic logos that turn out to be American imports.
The Town of Badger has issued an evacuation order for some residents as water levels on the Exploits River continue to rise.
The head of a national seniors' advocacy organization says protecting nursing home residents from sexual abuse is an important but challenging issue.