Killed Air Canada pilot Antoine Forest’s family pay tribute to their ‘handsome young man’

Antoine Forest has been named as one of two pilots killed in the LaGuardia Airport plane crash. A flight attendant miraculously survived

A black and white portrait of an individual with long hair and a smiling expression, wearing a puffy jacket, standing in an open

Antoine Forest’s Facebook page paints a picture of a man happiest in the outdoors (Image: Facebook)

One of the two pilots killed in a plane crash at a major US airport has been named.

Antoine Forest tragically died after an Air Canada jet carrying 72 passengers and four crew members collided with a firefighting vehicle whilst landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late on Sunday. Mr Forest was named by Canadian outlet TVA Nouvelles, which reported he was originally from Coteau-du-Lac, a small city in southwestern Quebec. The identity of the second pilot has not yet been released.

Mr Forest’s family spoke with the Toronto Star to confirm the resident of Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec, 25-miles from Montreal, had been flying since the age of 16. The pilot’s great-aunt, Jeannette Gagnier said, “He was always taking courses and flying,” remembering how her great nephew trained to pilot bush planes. “He never stopped.”

Forest spent his formative years dividing his time between Quebec and Hawkesbury, Ontario, where summers were spent fishing and watching television with Gagnier. During his eleventh grade year he moved in with her full-time to sharpen his English — a step he considered essential to his dream of becoming a pilot.

Professional records and his LinkedIn profile show he began his flying career on smaller bush planes, including the de Havilland Canada Beaver and Otter, with Air Saguenay. He later progressed to twin-engine aircraft with ExactAir before joining Jazz Aviation as a first officer in December 2022.

His Facebook page paints a picture of a man happiest in the outdoors — hiking snow-capped peaks and spending time on the water. Gagnier, who learned of the crash from her son on Monday, remembered him as a “handsome young man” who would still cuddle with her at bedtime during childhood summer visits.

Audio released by LiveATC revealed that 20 minutes after the crash at New York’s third-busiest airport, an air traffic controller said: “That wasn’t good to watch.”

Another replied: “Yeah, I know I was here. I tried to reach out. We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.'”

The fire engine was traversing the runway after an air traffic controller granted it permission to attend to a United Airlines plane reporting an unusual smell on board. Prior to the collision, an air traffic controller can be heard urgently instructing the fire engine: “Stop, Truck 1. Stop.”

The controller is then heard attempting to divert the Bombardier CRJ from landing. Approximately 40 passengers and crew members were transported to hospitals, some with severe injuries. Most were discharged by Monday morning, according to authorities.

Solange Tremblay, from Quebec, was one of the flight attendants working the Jazz Aviation-operated CRJ-900 when it crashed, and was among the nine people taken to hospital following the collision.

She was hurled more than 300 feet from the aircraft and found still buckled into her seat, her daughter has revealed.

Her daughter told Quebec’s TVA News it was a “complete miracle” that Tremblay had survived. She sustained multiple bone fractures among her injuries but is not reported to be in a critical condition.

An Air Canada passenger aircraft is seen on the runway, tilted to one side with emergency personnel attending to it. The aircraf

An Air Canada Express CRJ-900 sits on the runway after colliding with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

An individual is captured in a photograph standing in front of a sleek, modern jet positioned on a runway, with the setting sun

Solange Tremblay, from Quebec, was one of the flight attendants working the Jazz Aviation-operated CRJ-900 (Image: Solange Tremblay)

Photographs reveal that the impact crushed the aircraft’s nose, leaving cables and wreckage hanging from the cockpit. Two Port Authority employees in the fire engine sustained injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, stated Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted on X: “Heartbreaking news out of LaGuardia this morning. Two pilots were killed and dozens injured in this tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected. The airport will remain closed until 2:00 PM. We’ll continue to share updates as they become available.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is spearheading an investigation into the crash.