What We Know About the Pilots Killed in LaGuardia Airport Collision

Multiple passengers say the pilots’ actions saved the lives of the passengers onboard.

The two pilots of Air Canada Express Flight 8646, which collided with a fire truck just after landing March 22 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, died after the crash.

Canadian media has widely identified Antoine Forest as one of the pilots. A family member who asked to remain anonymous also confirmed his death to NBC News. Mackenzie Gunther was identified by his school, Toronto’s Seneca Polytechnic, as the first officer on the flight.

Officials have not named the pilots who died in the collision.

“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.

Seventy-two passengers were onboard the flight, while four crew members worked it, including the two pilots who died. More than 40 people went to area hospitals to treat injuries, some of them serious.

Multiple passengers credited the pilots for doing what they could to save lives.

“I’m just so appreciative that they were able to save us, but I’m just so sad that they weren’t able to make it home to their families,” passenger Rebecca Liquori told NBC News. “I wouldn’t be here had it not been for the pilot acting quickly.”

“I fully believe that these two pilots, who unfortunately lost their lives, did everything in their power to stop the plane and slow it down at the very last minute,” said another passenger, Joseph, who asked to be identified by his first name due to restrictions from his job on speaking to the media. “They deserve all the credit for being heroes that day.”

Investigators continue to probe the matter to determine what happened.

“We have a lot of data right now, a lot of information, including information on tower staffing, but the (National Transportation Safety Board) deals in facts,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a press conference.

Here’s what we know about the pilots.

Antoine Forest

Canadian media has widely identified Antoine Forest as one of the pilots.

According to his Facebook profile, Forest lived in and was from Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec. The Facebook page for Coteau-du-Lac said in a translated statement March 23 that the city and “the members of the municipal council would like to offer their deepest condolences to his family, relatives and friends. We wish them all the comfort they need to get through this ordeal.”

A LinkedIn profile with Forest’s name lists his job as CRJ first officer with Jazz Aviation LP Air Canada Express, held since December 2022. The profile also mentions a nearly three-year stint with Exact Air and experience with Air Saguenay. He was also an assistant engineer with Canadian Helicopters Unlimited.

Mackenzie Gunther

Gunther graduated from Toronto’s Seneca Polytechnic, and the school said in a statement that the alumnus died “in the aviation accident at LaGuardia Airport in New York” March 22.

“Mr. Gunther graduated from the Honours Bachelor of Aviation Technology (FPR) program in 2023,” the school said in a statement. “Through the Jazz Aviation Pathways Program, he joined Jazz Aviation immediately after graduation and began his professional flying career. He was the First Officer on the flight, operating as Air Canada Express, from Montreal to New York.”

“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 statement added.

The school said flags on Seneca’s campuses will be at half-mast on March 24.