Were the pilots of the Air Canada plane that crashed into a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport both females? No, that's not true: The pilot and co-pilot killed in the ground collision have been identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther. The FAA administrator described the two as "young men at the start of their careers" during a March 23, 2026, news conference.
The claim appeared in a March 23, 2026, post on X account @TheOnlyDSC (archived here). It opened:
No one:
Literally not one person in history:
Female pilots:
March 23, 2026
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @TheOnlyDSC on X.com.)
Federal Aviation Administration head Bryan Bedford's statement that the two pilots were "young men at the start of their careers" can be heard in a video from the press conference on YouTube, beginning at 5:55:
(Image source: post on YouTube.)
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported (archived here) the identities of the two male pilots as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther.
Capt. Antoine Forest's brother, Cédric Forest, shared a post on Facebook (archived here) about his loss, as the CBC reported (archived here). Cédric wrote:
Have a safe flight, my brother! Oh yes, we've heard that phrase often, but this time will be the last. You were coming and going in the wind, always full of new projects in mind. Gone again in the wind too soon to say goodbye❤️I love you brother❤️❤️you can leave with your head held high🕊️
(Image source: post by @CedricForest on Facebook.)
Co-pilot Mackenzie Gunther's death was memorialized by his college, Seneca Polytechnic (archived here), on March 23, 2026, where the school wrote about his accomplishments:
Mr. Gunther graduated from the Honours Bachelor of Aviation Technology (FPR) program in 2023. Through the Jazz Aviation Pathways Program, he joined Jazz Aviation immediately after graduation and began his professional flying career. He was the First Officer on the flight, operating as Air Canada Express, from Montreal to New York.
