Air Canada pilots killed in collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport identified

The two pilots killed in Sunday night’s collision between an Air Canada Jazz Aviation flight and an airport fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport have been identified.

Antoine Forest of Québec has been identified as the flight’s captain, while Mackenzie Gunther, a graduate of Seneca College’s aviation technology program in 2023, as the first officer of the flight.

The crash happened around 11:45 p.m., when a CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation touched down on runway four at LaGuardia after its journey from Montréal Trudeau International Airport.

The Air Canada Flight AC8646, carrying more than 70 passengers, collided with an airport fire truck that had been given the go-ahead to cross the runway to respond to another emergency.

In the moments before the collision, a firefighting truck was responding to a separate incident on a United Airlines flight that had aborted its takeoff after reporting a strange odour on board.

Two firefighters on the truck and about 40 people on the plane were injured, with nine still in care Monday morning, officials said.

The employees in the fire truck suffered non-life-threatening injuries, as one was released Monday afternoon, and the other was kept overnight for observation.

One of two flight attendants on the plane was thrown onto the tarmac while still strapped in her seat during the collision. She suffered multiple fractures in her right leg.

The plane’s black boxes have been recovered as the investigation continues. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will also be taking part in the investigation.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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