The tragic accident at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport that claimed the lives of two Air Canada pilots has unveiled the identity of the second victim. MacKenzie Gunther, who was serving as the first officer on the ill-fated Air Canada Express Flight 646 from Montreal, perished alongside his colleague, pilot Antoine Forest.

Radio-Canada reported that Forest, aged 30 and hailing from Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec, was piloting the Bombardier CRJ-900 when the disaster struck. The aircraft landed late Sunday night under the cover of rain, colliding fatally with a fire truck that inadvertently crossed the runway at approximately 11:47 p.m.

The aircraft, moving at a speed of about 150 mph, met the fire truck in a catastrophic crash, causing a massive spray of water to erupt as the impact propelled the truck across the tarmac. Surveillance footage captured the dramatic moment, highlighting the chaotic aftermath.

The collision resulted in 41 individuals being urgently transported to the hospital. Among those injured were two firefighters who were inside the fire truck at the time and a flight attendant who was thrown an astonishing 330 feet from the aircraft.

Forty-one people were rushed to the hospital following the collision, including two firefighters who were inside the firetruck at the time of the crash and a flight attendant who was thrown 330 feet from the plane.

There had been 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft, and experts said the death toll could have been far higher if the truck had collided with the fuel stored on the plane. 

Federal authorities are now investigating what may have caused the fatal collision, as audio from air traffic control revealed workers pleaded for the fire truck to stop seconds before it crashed into the landing jet. 

The fire truck had been given permission to cross the runway to deal with an unrelated issue on a separate plane, where a pilot reported that an ‘odor’ was filling the aircraft that left ‘flight attendants feeling ill’, officials said. 

MacKenzie Gunther served as the first officer on Air Canada Express Flight 646 from Montreal on Sunday night, working alongside pilot Antoine Forest, 30, of Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec (pictured) 

Surveillance footage of the runway showed the Air Canada Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft landing at the same moment the fire truck crossed its path on the tarmac

National Transportation Safety Board investigators seen surveying the wreckage on Monday

As the fire truck raced to the other aircraft, air traffic controllers appeared to realize it was on a collision course with the Air Canada jet just seconds before impact at around 11.30pm, as one said in the audio: ‘Truck One, stop, stop, stop!’ 

Addressing the plane seconds later, the air traffic controller said: ‘JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can’t move. Vehicles are responding to you now.’

Images from the tarmac after the incident showed the truck was destroyed in the collision. The nose of the Air Canada plane had also been torn off by the impact.

The deadly crash left LaGuardia Airport closed for several hours, before it reopened Monday afternoon at a reduced capacity while the wrecked plane and firetruck remain on the tarmac.

National Transportation Safety Board members will now comb through the wreckage to figure out what to collect and take back to a lab in Washington DC, Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference.

But authorities have already been able to retrieve the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, Homendy told reporters.

She said the NTSB, Port Authority and emergency responders had to cut a hole in the roof of the aircraft and drop down into the wreckage to secure the devices.

They were then taken back to labs in Washington DC, and investigators have ‘been able to at least verify that the cockpit voice recorder was not damaged,’ Homendy said.

A terrified passenger shared shocking images of the damage to the aircraft

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the agency is working to verify preliminary information about staffing at the air traffic control tower

The deadly crash came amid an ongoing nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and sources told NBC News that the air traffic controller on duty Sunday night had been working two positions at the time of the crash.

The NTSB is now working to verify preliminary information about staffing at the air traffic control tower at the time of the crash.

‘We have to look at records,’ Homendy said. ‘There are sign-in sheets. We have to do interviews. We have to look at time cards. That is information we always have to corroborate.’

But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has refuted the claim, as he vowed to offer bonuses for older air traffic controllers on Monday. 

In a disturbing incident early Monday morning, counterterrorism officers have taken charge of an investigation after four ambulances owned by the Jewish community were set on fire outside a synagogue in London. Authorities are approaching this case as an antisemitic hate crime.

The attack unfolded at approximately 1:45 a.m. in the Golders Green area, where Hatzola ambulances, operated by the Jewish community as a volunteer emergency service, were intentionally torched in the synagogue’s parking lot. This information comes from a statement made by Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams of the Metropolitan Police.

Williams described the arson as an antisemitic hate crime, emphasizing the profound impact on the Jewish community. He noted that though the incident hasn’t been officially labeled as terrorism, the Counterterrorism Policing team is leading the investigation, exploring all possible leads.

According to the Jewish Chronicle, a video has surfaced online allegedly showing a group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, known for its Iranian ties and responsibility for recent assaults on Jewish sites in Belgium and the Netherlands, claiming credit for the attack in London.

The aftermath shows the charred remnants of Hatzola’s ambulances, belonging to the Jewish community organization, marking a scene that underscores the seriousness with which police are treating this antisemitic hate crime in northwest London. (Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Authorities are examining a potential link to a newly emerged group with suspected ties to Iran. “We are aware of an online claim from a group taking responsibility for this attack,” Williams said. “Establishing the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority… but it is not something we can confirm at this point.”

Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that the attack reflects years of policy failures in confronting Iranian activity on British soil. “Successive U.K. Governments have completely failed in their primary duty of keeping the home front safe. Iranian terrorist activity has been known about in the U.K. for years yet no significant moves have been made to ban the IRGC or restrict the ability of regime-linked entities to function within British society. We have created the conditions for terrorism to flourish,” he said. 

He argued that Britain’s broader approach to the conflict with Iran — attempting to maintain distance while avoiding direct confrontation — has further emboldened Tehran. “The current policy on the war in Iran is delusional. The Government is pretending Britain is not involved. The Iranian regime does not, however, believe in neutrality and has decided its position for us: ripe for targeting.”

Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a post on X that “My initial assessment is that the attack could potentially be linked to Ashab al-Yamin, an Iran-linked group that has carried out multiple attacks against Jewish institutions across Europe since the war began… Hopefully this is something different, but the possibility that the group is involved should be examined.”

Charred remains of ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, which were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in northwest London, Britain, March 23, 2026.  (Isabel Infantes/Reuters)

Police said they are searching for three suspects seen on CCTV pouring an accelerant onto the vehicles before igniting them. No injuries were reported, though nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution. 

The attack comes amid a broader wave of violence targeting Jewish communities across Europe in recent weeks.

Scott Saunders, CEO of the International March of the Living, said the incident represents a dangerous escalation. “The arson attack in Golders Green… marks a dangerous escalation in the targeting of Jewish communities,” Saunders said. “Emergency vehicles operated by Jewish volunteer first responders were deliberately attacked… in direct proximity to a place of worship — a space that should represent safety.”

Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel visits the scene after four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in northwest London, Britain, March 23, 2026.  (Isabel Infantes/Reuters)

“These ambulances do not only serve Jewish communities… Targeting them is an attack not only on Jewish life, but on the shared fabric of the community they serve,” he added. “Since the war with Iran began, antisemitic attacks have become more frequent, more brazen, and more direct. Jewish institutions are being singled out; synagogues, community spaces, and now even the emergency services that exist to protect Jewish lives, with a growing sense that these are legitimate targets. Following the deadly shooting in and around a synagogue in Manchester last October, where this escalation already resulted in loss of life, the attack in Golders Green makes clear that this trajectory is continuing.”

Dr. Charles Asher Small, founder of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, said the attack reflects a broader trend.

“The attack against a visible Jewish target is not an isolated act of vandalism; it is the violent fruition of a climate where Jew-hatred has been normalized and institutionalized,” Small said.

Men hold the flag of Israel and the pre-Iranian Revolution “Lion and Sun” flag near the scene where four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in northwest London, Britain, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes (Isabel Infantes/Reuters)

“At the center of this malignancy sits the Iranian regime… which actively funds and directs the networks that view British Jewish institutions as legitimate targets,” he added.

British officials also condemned the attack.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “An attack on our Jewish community is an attack on us all. We will fight the poison that is antisemitism.”

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called the incident on X “a particularly sickening assault — not only on the Jewish community, but on the values we share as a society.”

Police secure the site near a synagogue damaged by an explosion early on Monday, in Liege, Belgium, March 9, 2026.  (Yves Herman/Reuters)

“The targeting of Hatzola… is a most painful illustration of the ongoing battle between those who sanctify life and those who seek to destroy it,” he added in a statement posted March 23, 2026.

Police said there have been no arrests and urged anyone with information to come forward.