The two Air Canada pilots killed when a plane crashed into a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport have been identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther. Local media reported Forest was 30-years-old and from Québec, while Gunther graduated from Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto in 2023. The incident, which happened at 23:40 local time on Sunday (03:40 GMT on Monday), injured 41 people who were taken to hospital and shut the New York airport until Monday afternoon. 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, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator Bran Bedford said. Forest had learned to fly bush planes in Saguenay in 2018 before being hired by Air Canada in December 2022. His great aunt, Jeannette Gagnier, told the newspaper that he and his brother would spend summers with her as he practiced his English to become a pilot. Gunther joined Air Canada after graduating from Seneca, which said flags at the campus would be lowered to half-mast on Tuesday. 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. Flight attendant Solange Tremblay from Quebec miraculously survived after being ejected from the plane and was found alive strapped to her seat more than a hundred metres (300ft) from the plane, suffering multiple fractures. Her daughter, Sarah Lépine, told local broadcaster TVA Nouvelles on Monday she was seated behind the pilots when the plane landed. The two officers inside the fire truck that collided with the plane were also taken to hospital with injuries. An air traffic controller was heard saying: 'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!' seconds before the crash. Investigators on Tuesday released details from the final three minutes of cockpit voice recordings and tower communications, including that controllers had cleared both the plane and a fire truck to cross the runway. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the inquiry was ongoing and would include interviews with the two controllers on duty on Sunday night.
Tragic LaGuardia Crash Claims Lives of Young Pilots
Tragic LaGuardia Crash Claims Lives of Young Pilots
Two promising Air Canada pilots, Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther, have tragically lost their lives in a collision at LaGuardia Airport, sparking investigations into the incident.
The recent crash at LaGuardia Airport has left two Air Canada pilots deceased, identified as Antoine Forest, 30, and Mackenzie Gunther, a recent graduate. The incident resulted in feedback from officials about the outdated air traffic control systems and a profound loss felt by their families and communities. Investigators continue to probe the circumstances surrounding the crash, which injured another 41 individuals.
