A name has now been confirmed in the LaGuardia tragedy — and it’s making the loss feel even more real.
Mackenzie Gunther, the co-pilot on Air Canada Express Flight 8646, has been identified as one of the two pilots killed in the late-night runway collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The flight, operated by Jazz Aviation on behalf of Air Canada Express, was arriving from Montreal when it collided with a Port Authority firetruck on the runway.
According to early reporting, there were 72 passengers and four crew members on board the aircraft. The crash killed two pilots and sent dozens of others to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. Air Canada later said that six people from the flight remained hospitalized at one point in the days following the incident.
In the aftermath, the focus has been split between grief and urgent questions: How could a plane and an emergency vehicle end up on the same runway at the same time?
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other agencies are continuing to examine communications, runway procedures, and the sequence of clearances that led up to the collision. The crash remains under investigation, and officials have not issued a final report.
But for the people who loved Mackenzie Gunther, the investigation is only one part of the story. The other part is the life behind the uniform.
Gunther was a recent graduate of Seneca Polytechnic’s aviation program (2023) and had joined Jazz Aviation through a pathway program that helped launch his professional flying career. News of his death triggered an outpouring of condolences in Canada, including tributes from his school and the broader aviation community.
The Associated Press reported that Gunther and fellow pilot Antoine Forest were young Canadian pilots who had long dreamed of flying, and that the loss has hit their communities with particular force because of how early they were in their careers.
As the wreckage was moved off the runway in the days after the crash, one detail stood out in coverage: many passengers survived and have credited the pilots’ quick actions with preventing an even worse outcome. That mix of survival and sorrow has defined the public response — gratitude for the lives spared, and heartbreak for the two pilots who didn’t make it home.
Now, as investigators continue their work, the name “Mackenzie Gunther” is no longer just a line in a report. It’s a reminder that behind every aviation headline are families, classmates, colleagues — and a future that ended far too soon.
