Major Crash at LaGuardia Airport
Just before midnight on March 22, 2026, an Air Canada plane crashed upon landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York. The plane was Air Canada flight AC8646, departing from Montreal, Quebec, and crashed into a fire truck on the runway. Only 2 people died: Captain Antoine Forest and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther. Both were Canadian nationals. Forest, from Quebec, was 30 years old, whereas Gunther, a Seneca Polytechnic graduate from Toronto, was 24.
According to the BBC, local authorities stated that 43 people were taken to the hospital, with many later discharged. However, there were still ten who had serious injuries. Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia stated that authorities “immediately responded” in the wake of the accident. Garcia also said first responders were helping with another plane not far away. President Trump responded by stating, “Terrible. They made a mistake. It’s a dangerous business . . .”
The firetruck was initially given permission by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to cross the runway as they were called to respond to another plane at the airport, which had failed to take off. However, an air traffic controller was recorded rescinding their clearance and asking the truck repeatedly to stop, but the transmission was not received by the firetruck in time. An investigation into how this miscommunication occurred is still in progress.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau responded by delivering a four-minute condolence video in English with French subtitles. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was not pleased with this, saying, “We proudly live in a bilingual country, and companies like Air Canada particularly have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages, regardless of the situation.”
According to CBC, Rousseau was asked to come speak to the Official Languages Committee to explain himself. The committee looked into violations of the Official Languages Act, which mandates that both languages be given equal status at the federal level. Air Canada is a major national carrier.
