2 Pilots Killed in LaGuardia Runway Collision Between Jet and Fire Truck Identified

Six seconds before a Port Authority fire truck ended their lives on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport, First Officer Mackenzie Gunther handed control of Air Canada Flight 8646 to Capt. Antoine Forest. The cockpit voice recorder captured what the National Transportation Safety Board described as a routine landing sequence right up until the moment it wasn't.

Forest and Gunther, who were operating the Mitsubishi CRJ-900 regional jet from Montreal, were identified as the two pilots killed in the ground collision late Sunday, March 22. Forest was 30 years old and from Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec. His great aunt, Jeannette Gagnier, told the Associated Press that he always wanted to be a pilot, and the small city of Coteau-du-Lac also identified Forest in an online post, saying he was originally from the community. Seneca Polytechnic identified Gunther as an alumnus of the Toronto-based school who joined Jazz Aviation immediately after graduating from the aviation technology program in 2023.

The Air Canada jet, carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, collided with a Port Authority fire truck while landing on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport around 11:45 p.m. Sunday. Air traffic control was simultaneously managing a separate emergency: the pilots of United Airlines Flight 2384 had aborted their takeoff when an anti-ice warning light came on, reported an odor in the cabin and requested firefighter assistance, and ultimately declared an emergency when no gates were immediately available. The ARFF vehicle dispatched to that United flight was crossing Runway 4 when Flight 8646 touched down.

Investigators say the Jazz flight had been cleared to land and was on a stable approach when the fire truck was also cleared to cross the runway. In the final seconds before the collision, the tower ordered the vehicle to stop, and the instruction came just before the plane touched down. Soon afterward, a controller is heard on audio saying, "I messed up." More than 40 people were injured in the crash, some seriously. A total of 41 people were taken to hospitals, 39 from the aircraft and two Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting officers from the truck. Most of the injuries were broken bones and bruises, but one person suffered a brain bleed.

One flight attendant who survived was found outside the aircraft, still strapped in her seat. She was identified as Solange Tremblay, whose daughter told CNN affiliate TVA Nouvelles that Tremblay suffered multiple fractures, was taken to the hospital, and would undergo surgery for a broken leg.

"These were two young men at the start of their careers, so it's an absolute tragedy," FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said at a press conference Monday. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it "an aviation disaster the likes of which we have not seen here in over three decades," adding: "It's a deeply human story where two young pilots left their homes expecting to return to their families and they will not, and this is what pains everyone."

The NTSB's investigation has already surfaced multiple compounding failures. The fire truck was not equipped with a transponder, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy confirmed Tuesday. Additionally, the airport's surface detection equipment, known as ASDE-X, did not generate an alert ahead of the collision "due to the close proximity of vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway," which resulted "in the inability to create a track of high confidence." Homendy also said the NTSB has seen "different information" as to how many certified controllers were in the facility at the time of the collision, and investigators have encountered "conflicting information" in the control tower's logs that they need to verify.

Appearing on Fox News' "FOX & Friends" Tuesday morning, Homendy said investigators have "a lot of questions" for air traffic control, including "everything from workload at the time, who was communicating, who was in the tower cab, who was in the facility, what the changeover was like for the new shift, which is the midnight shift."

NTSB investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, which will be transported to Washington for analysis. Former NTSB Chair Robert Sumwalt estimated the full investigation will take between 12 and 18 months to complete.

The crash marks the first deaths at LaGuardia in 34 years, Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said Monday. LaGuardia was closed after the accident and the FAA issued a ground stop until 2 p.m. Monday. One runway has since reopened, but the runway where the collision took place will remain closed until Friday morning.

Passenger Joe, who was traveling with his fiancé, said he was "pretty shaken up, still kind of in shock," and added: "The pilots saved many lives on that flight, and my heart's just broken for them." Long Island resident Rebecca Liquori was more direct: "Those pilots saved our lives.