Investigators recover black boxes after Air Canada regional jet collided with airport fire truck while landing at LaGuardia, killing both pilots and injuring dozens.
Federal investigators recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the wreckage of an Air Canada regional jet that collided with a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.
The crash killed both pilots while injuring dozens of passengers and two Port Authority firefighters from the fire truck.
The crash is the deadliest aviation accident at LaGuardia in more than 30 years, according to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The incident occurred around 11:37 p.m. Eastern time when Jazz Aviation Flight 8646, operating as Air Canada Express, struck an airport rescue and firefighting vehicle as the plane touched down on runway 4, according to NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Hammond.
One of the pilots has been identified as Antoine Forest, a Quebec native in his 30s who had been serving as first officer on the Bombardier CRJ900, his family said in an interview with the Toronto Star. The second pilot had not been publicly identified as of Monday night.
Forest grew up in Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, southwest of Montreal, and took his first flight at age 16, his great-aunt Jeannette Gagnier told the Star. He spent a year living with Gagnier and her husband in Hawkesbury, Ontario, during high school to sharpen his English and improve his chances of a career in aviation.
"He was always taking courses and flying. He never stopped," Gagnier said.
Forest began his career flying bush planes seasonally for Air Saguenay starting in June 2018, piloting aircraft such as the de Havilland Canada Beaver and Otter, according to his LinkedIn profile. He later flew twin-engine planes for ExactAir before being hired by Jazz Aviation in December 2022, where he was listed as a first officer flying Air Canada Express out of Montreal.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford had earlier described the two men killed as "two young men at the start of their careers.”
The fire truck was crossing the tarmac to respond to a separate emergency aboard a United Airlines flight whose pilot had reported an odor onboard, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia.
In the moments before the crash, radio transmissions captured an air traffic controller urgently ordering the truck to halt—"Stop, Truck 1. Stop"—before frantically trying to divert the incoming plane. About 20 minutes after the crash, the controller could be heard saying, "We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.”
Hammond confirmed the NTSB has formed several investigative groups, including teams focused on air traffic control, airport rescue and firefighting operations, aircraft systems, and structural wreckage documentation. She said the agency also began collecting information on tower staffing, crew training, and the firefighting vehicle's capabilities.
"We deal in facts. We don't speculate," Hammond said at the Monday press briefing. "We have a lot of information, but we need to be able to verify that information."
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was confirmed undamaged after being transported to NTSB labs in Washington, D.C., and work on the flight data recorder was expected to begin Tuesday, Hammond said. Port Authority and emergency responders cut a hole in the plane’s roof to retrieve both devices from the cockpit.
The 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight were not the only ones affected. Two Port Authority firefighters riding in the truck were also hurt, though their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, Garcia said. In total, around 40 passengers, crew members, and fire truck occupants were taken to area hospitals, with most released by Monday morning.
Several survivors recalled the terrifying final moments. Passenger Clément Lelièvre said the pilots braked "extremely hard" upon touchdown.
"I don't know the circumstances, but I think he kind of saved our lives because he must have had incredible reflexes," Lelièvre told The Canadian Press.
Passenger Rebecca Liquori, a former News12 Long Island employee who had traveled to Montreal for a family baby shower, described passengers being thrown from their seats and helping each other escape by sliding down a wing.
"I'm just happy to be alive," Liquori told the Long Island news station. "I would have never pictured a one-hour flight that I've done countless times … ending like this."
LaGuardia resumed partial operations at 2 p.m. Monday, though officials warned travelers to expect continued delays and cancellations.
Hammond said the runway would remain closed for several more days as NTSB investigators document and collect debris that stretched from taxiway delta across runway 4 and into surrounding areas.
The crash occurred during an already turbulent stretch for U.S. airports. A partial government shutdown has led to TSA staffing shortages and hours-long security lines nationwide—a situation that also complicated the NTSB's response, with one air traffic control specialist reportedly waiting in a TSA line for three hours before investigators could intervene.
From NTD
