The two Air Canada pilots killed after a passenger jet collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport have been identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther, aviation officials confirmed.
The crash occurred at around 23:40 local time on Sunday when the aircraft struck an airport firefighting vehicle while landing. The accident injured 41 people, who were transported to nearby hospitals, and forced the temporary closure of LaGuardia Airport until Monday afternoon.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator Bran Bedford described the deaths as a heartbreaking loss for the aviation community.
“These were two young men at the start of their career, so it’s an absolute tragedy that we’re sitting here with their loss,” Bedford said.
Forest, 30, was from Québec and had pursued aviation from a young age. According to local reports, he learned to fly bush planes in Saguenay in 2018 before joining Air Canada in December 2022.
His great aunt, Jeannette Gagnier, said Forest had been determined to become a pilot and began flying when he was just 16 years old.
“He was always taking courses and flying. He never stopped,” she said, recalling summers he spent practicing English while staying with relatives.
Gunther, the second pilot, graduated from Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto in 2023 before beginning his career with Air Canada.
Seneca Polytechnic said the institution would lower its campus flags to half-mast in honor of the young pilot.
“Seneca sends our deepest condolences to Mr. Gunther’s family and friends, and to his former colleagues and professors. He will be deeply missed,” the college said in a statement.
Among the survivors was Air Canada flight attendant Solange Tremblay of Quebec, who was miraculously found alive after being ejected from the aircraft while still strapped to her seat. She was discovered more than 100 metres from the wreckage with multiple fractures.
Her daughter, Sarah Lépine, told a local broadcaster that Tremblay had been seated just behind the pilots during the landing.
“It’s a complete miracle,” she said. “She had a guardian angel watching over her. It could have been much worse.”
The two firefighters inside the truck involved in the collision were also hospitalized with injuries.
Investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board have begun examining the circumstances that led to the crash. Preliminary findings revealed that both the aircraft and the fire truck had been cleared to cross the same runway.
Air traffic control recordings captured a controller urgently warning the truck moments before the collision, shouting: “Truck One, stop, stop, stop!”
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said investigators are reviewing the final three minutes of cockpit voice recordings and tower communications, and will interview the two air traffic controllers who were on duty that night.
Homendy also noted that a ground radar system designed to monitor runway traffic failed to provide an alert before the collision. The firefighting vehicle did not have a transponder, a device that would have allowed the radar system to detect it.
She described the U.S. air traffic control system as outdated and called for technological upgrades while cautioning against assigning blame prematurely.
“Controllers should have all the information and the tools to do their job,” Homendy said. “You have to have information on ground movements, whether that’s aircraft or vehicles. This is 2026.”
She also highlighted longstanding concerns from air traffic controllers about staffing shortages and heavy workloads at busy airport towers.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities work to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the fatal collision.