{"id":205265,"date":"2026-03-25T06:04:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T06:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/what-we-know-about-the-laguardia-plane-and-fire-truck-crash-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T06:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T06:04:23","slug":"what-we-know-about-the-laguardia-plane-and-fire-truck-crash-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/what-we-know-about-the-laguardia-plane-and-fire-truck-crash-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"What we know about the LaGuardia plane and fire truck crash – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The two pilots killed<\/a> in the collision between a passenger jet and a Port Authority fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday have been identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther.
The pair have yet to be officially named by authorities, who have said only that both pilots of the Canada Air Express plane died and that they were based in Canada. Their identities were confirmed by Canadian news reports and by a college that one pilot attended.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies are investigating the crash. They will seek to determine how the truck was able to cut across the jet\u2019s path moments after it touched down on the runway.
Here’s what we know about the fatal crash.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, NTSB officials released preliminary information gleaned from the final three minutes of the plane\u2019s cockpit voice recorder that showed that the fire truck was cleared to cross the runway 20 seconds before the crash.
At 2 minutes and 22 seconds, the flight crew checked in with the tower at LaGuardia, said Doug Brazy, NTSB’s senior aviation investigator.
At 2 minutes and 17 seconds, the tower cleared the airplane to land on Runway 4.
Brazy said that at 1 minute and 3 seconds, an airport vehicle made a radio transmission to the tower but that the transmission was “stepped on” by another radio transmission. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said that means there was some sort of interference with the transmission.
At 54 seconds, the tower advised the flight crew that the plane was at a stable approach, Brazy said.
At 40 seconds, the LaGuardia tower asked which vehicle needed to cross a runway. Brazy said the fire truck made a transmission to the tower, which the tower acknowledged. At 25 seconds, the truck requested permission to cross Runway 4. Brazy said that at 20 seconds, the tower cleared the truck to cross.
At 17 seconds, the fire truck read back the runway crossing clearance, he said. According to Brazy, the tower instructed a Frontier Airlines flight to hold position, and at 9 seconds, the tower told the fire truck to stop.
At 8 seconds, there was a sound consistent with the airplane\u2019s landing gear touching down on the runway, he said. At 6 seconds, there was a pilot transfer of controls. Homendy told reporters that the first officer was flying the plane and transferred control to the captain.
At 4 seconds, the tower again instructed the fire truck to stop, Brazy said.
Homendy said two people were working in the tower cabin at the time of the crash: a local controller and the controller in charge.
The local controller manages active runways and the immediate airspace surrounding the airport, she said. The controller in charge is responsible for all safety operations and was also responsible for performing the duties of the clearance delivery controller, which provides pilots with their departure clearance, she said.
The NTSB is still trying to determine who was performing the duties of the ground controller, who manages all aircraft and vehicle movement on taxiways.
\u201cWe have conflicting information. We have some information saying it was the controller in charge. We have some information saying it was the local controller,\u201d she said.
Homendy said it is common practice \u201cacross national airspace\u201d to have two controllers during the midnight shift, although she said the NTSB has expressed concerns in the past about fatigue with the shift.
\u201cI do not know, I have no indication that was a factor here, but it is a shift that we have been focused on in past investigations,\u201d she said.
The local controller signed in at work at 10:45 p.m., and the controller in charge signed in at 10:30 p.m.
The pilots have been credited with saving the lives<\/a> of the 72 passengers and the two surviving crew members on the plane Sunday night by quickly braking and minimizing the impact as it crashed into the truck as it was landing.
More than 40 people were taken for treatment for mostly minor injuries, and most were soon released, although some remain hospitalized with serious injuries.
Jack Cabot, 22, a passenger on the Canada Air flight returning home from a spring break ski trip, told NBC News that from his seat in the 18th row, he could feel the pilots trying to slow the plane in the moments before the collision. The crash left him with a bruise on his cheek and a sore neck after his head banged into the seat in front of him, but he knew it could have been much more dire.
“I think everybody on that plane feels very grateful that they’re all alive, and they all pretty much give it to the pilots,” Cabot said. “They really just did the best they could.”
Another passenger, Cl\u00e9ment Leli\u00e8vre, echoed the sentiment to the Montreal-based La Presse<\/a> news outlet, praising the pilots’ quick reflexes: “Il nous a sauv\u00e9s.” He saved us.
Cabot said that upon seeing the damage to the nose of the plane when he exited through the emergency door, he knew the pilots could not have survived.
“We all saw the cockpit and just knew that people had died,” he said.
One pilot, Forest, was widely named in Canadian news media, and a family member who asked to remain anonymous confirmed his death to NBC News.
A LinkedIn profile <\/a>bearing his name lists him as a pilot based in the greater Montreal area working for Jazz Aviation, the company that operated Flight 8646 on behalf of Air Canada.
Forest’s hometown, the small city of Coteau-du-Lac in southwestern Quebec, paid tribute to him and offered condolences to his family, according to the Canadian broadcaster TVA Nouvelles.
Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto confirmed<\/a> that Gunther, a former student who was the flight’s first officer, died in the crash. The college said he graduated with a degree in aviation technology in 2023 and joined Jazz after graduation.
“Seneca sends our deepest condolences to Mr. Gunther\u2019s family and friends, and to his former colleagues and professors. He will be deeply missed,” Seneca said in a statement, adding that it would make counseling services available to its students.
The Port Authority Sergeants Benevolent Association said that a sergeant assigned to the airport rescue firefighters detail was driving the truck and that a Port Authority police officer was in the passenger\u2019s seat. Both were injured.
\u201cWhile we cannot comment on any further details pending the ongoing NTSB investigation, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the two pilots who were killed,\u201d the association said in a statement.
Rebecca Liquori, a passenger <\/a>on the Jazz Aviation flight told NBC News<\/a> that she was snoozing on the plane when she was awakened by a flight attendant\u2019s announcement.
\u201cIf this flight has an emergency landing, don\u2019t take your luggage with you. Just exit quickly,\u201d Liquori recalled hearing. She described a turbulent descent and then the crash shortly after the plane touched down.
\u201cIt was like a grinding sound. Then, a couple seconds after that, you just felt the collision,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was like the loudest boom I\u2019ve ever heard.\u201d
But it still isn’t exactly clear how the crash occurred.
Photos after the crash show the plane wreck. The nose appeared torn off, leaving mangled parts of the front of the plane dangling toward the ground.
Homendy said the investigation will span the aircraft’s operations, examine components of the plane and the flight control system, and analyze the accident scene, air traffic control and airport operations.
Aviation experts have said investigators will examine the possibility of radio failures, failed runway crossing procedures and human error, among other factors, to determine what went wrong.
John Cox, a former airline pilot and an NBC News aviation analyst, said the ability to move an airplane after it has landed \u201cis very limited.\u201d He said that among the things investigators will look at is how quickly the pilots tried to stop the aircraft.
\u201cIf something pulls out in front of you, you can brake hard, and that\u2019s about all you can do,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s very limited steering available. There is some, but very limited.\u201d
Rich Pelowski, a former journeyman air traffic controller and air traffic manager, said that once a plane is cleared to land, the pilot expects the runway to be clear.
\u201cThere\u2019s no question he has the priority. He owns the runway, regardless of whatever else is going on,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce he\u2019s cleared to land, that\u2019s his runway.\u201d
Air traffic control audio recordings released by LiveATC appear to show a controller giving the truck the go-ahead to cross the runway. But soon afterward, a controller says, \u201cTruck 1, stop.\u201d After the collision, an air traffic controller is heard on the audio saying, \u201cI messed up.\u201d
It was the first fatal crash at the New York airport in more than 30 years, officials said Monday.
CORRECTION <\/strong>(March 24, 2026, 4:35 p.m. ET): <\/strong>An earlier version of the graphic in this article mislabeled the point of collision between the plane and the fire truck. The graphic has been updated.
Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Elizabeth Chuck is a reporter for NBC News who focuses on health and mental health, particularly issues that affect women and children.
Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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