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  "path": "/news/us/us-news-air-canada-pilot-saved-lives-new-york-airport-crash",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-24T22:29:36.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nThe swift reactions of Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther, the two pilots who died in the Air Canada Express collision at New York's LaGuardia Airport, have been hailed by the passengers as having prevented a far greater tragedy.\n\nAll 72 others aboard the Bombardier CRJ-900 survived the impact, though 41 passengers and crew required hospital treatment alongside two officers from the fire truck that the plane crashed into.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThose who walked away from the wreckage have since spoken of the \"chaos\" that unfolded as the aircraft veered out of control, whilst crediting the pilots' instinctive actions with sparing numerous lives.\n\nSurvivors have recounted feeling the pilots brake with tremendous force in the moments before impact.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nClément Lelièvre, a French passenger, said that the crew applied the brakes \"extremely hard\" as the aircraft touched down, an action he believes averted further fatalities.\n\n\"I don't know the circumstances, but I think he kind of saved our lives because he must have had incredible reflexes,\" she explained.\n\nAnother passenger, posting on Reddit, described feeling a sudden jolt, followed by a loud bang, roughly 30 seconds after landing.\n\nThey noted that the pilot appeared to engage reverse thrust at the final moment to reduce speed.\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Honestly, they likely saved our lives,\" the passenger wrote. \"I wish I could tell their families how thankful I am. They are heroes.\"\n\nThe flight from Montreal had just touched down at approximately 11.35pm local time when it struck the emergency vehicle, which was crossing the runway to attend to an unrelated incident.\n\nAudio recordings from the air traffic control tower have revealed the desperate attempts to avert disaster.\n\nIn the moments before the collision, a controller can be heard repeatedly instructing the vehicle to halt, shouting: \"Truck One, stop, stop, stop!\"\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe fire truck had received clearance to cross the runway whilst responding to a separate emergency.\n\nA pilot on another aircraft had reported an unusual odour filling the cabin, causing flight attendants to feel unwell.\n\nControllers appeared to recognise the impending collision only seconds before the crash occurred at around 11.30pm.\n\nImmediately afterwards, a dispatcher addressed the stricken aircraft: \"JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe National Transportation Safety Board has launched a comprehensive investigation into the incident. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy confirmed that investigators have successfully retrieved both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the wreckage.\n\nRecovery teams were forced to cut through the aircraft's roof and descend into the debris to secure the devices, which have since been transported to laboratories in Washington DC. Officials have verified that the cockpit voice recorder sustained no damage.\n\nThe NTSB is also examining staffing arrangements at the control tower following reports that a single controller may have been managing two positions simultaneously. Chairwoman Homendy stated that investigators must review records, conduct interviews and examine time cards to corroborate preliminary information.\n\nTransport Secretary Sean Duffy has disputed claims that only one controller was on duty.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Air Canada pilot 'saved passengers' lives' with quick reflexes in New York airport crash"
}