March 24, 2026 / 8:52 PM EDT / CBS/AP
The two Canadian pilots who died in Sunday’s runway collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport were described by officials as young, ambitious men beginning their careers in aviation.
Capt. Antoine Forest and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther were operating the Air Canada Express flight that struck a fire-rescue vehicle just before midnight while landing from Montreal, authorities said. The aircraft had 72 passengers and a crew of four. Air Canada reported 39 people aboard were injured; six remain hospitalized.
“These were two young men at the start of their careers,” FAA Administrator Brian Bedford said. “It’s an absolute tragedy that we’re sitting here with their loss.”
Air-traffic-control recordings indicate controllers cleared the fire-rescue vehicle to cross the runway and then told it to stop before the collision, according to reports. Sources told CBS News the plane was traveling about 100 mph when it hit the vehicle. The National Transportation Safety Board said a runway warning system did not activate in the moments before impact; investigators are continuing to probe the circumstances.
Antoine Forest
Jeannette Gagnier, Forest’s great aunt, identified him and told The Associated Press he had always wanted to fly. His LinkedIn profile showed employment with two airlines over the past five years. Forest was from Coteau-du-Lac, a small town in southwestern Québec; the town’s mayor, Andrée Brosseau, offered condolences, saying his loss is felt across the community.
Forest’s brother, Cédric, posted a childhood photo and a farewell on Facebook, and a woman who identified herself as his girlfriend—also a pilot—shared a photo calling him “the love of my life.”
Mackenzie Gunther
Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto said Gunther graduated from its Honors Bachelor of Aviation Technology program in 2023 and immediately joined the Jazz Aviation Pathways Program, a training pipeline tied to Air Canada. The crashed flight was a Jazz-operated aircraft flying for Air Canada. Seneca lowered flags to half-staff and issued condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
Passengers praised the pilots’ actions during the landing. At least one passenger, Clément Lelièvre, called their “incredible reflexes” life-saving, saying the pilots braked very hard as the plane touched down.
The investigation into the crash and the sequence of air-traffic communications remains ongoing.