Passengers aboard Air Canada Express Flight 8646 are crediting the two pilots killed in last week’s crash at LaGuardia Airport with taking actions that they believe saved lives during the final moments before impact, as reported by The New York Post.

Pilot Antoine Forest and first officer Mackenzie Gunther were killed Sunday night when the aircraft collided with a Port Authority fire truck that was crossing Runway 4 to respond to a separate emergency.

The crash occurred shortly after the plane touched down at approximately 11:45 p.m., according to officials.

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Rebecca Liquori, a passenger on the flight, told CNN she believes the pilots acted quickly to slow the aircraft before the collision.

“I feel like the pilots saved our lives,” Liquori told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday.

“They’re the reasons I was able to make it home safe to see my boys, and my heart goes out to their families.”

“I’m just grateful to be alive. I’m grateful that I was able to go home and kiss my sons, be able to hug them, because when I was on the plane, I didn’t think that I was ever going to get that opportunity again.”

Air Canada passenger who opened the emergency exit door describes… pic.twitter.com/YOwIo5uTFw

— Erin Burnett OutFront (@OutFrontCNN) March 24, 2026

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Liquori said the pilots appeared to apply the brakes immediately upon landing, which may have reduced the severity of the impact.

The aircraft ultimately struck the fire truck, killing both pilots and sending a crew member out of the aircraft while secured in a safety chair.

Another passenger, Jack Cabot, described the moment the plane touched down and the immediate sense that something was wrong.

“Right as we hit the ground, we kind of felt, like, the brake was pretty hard, and we all felt something was wrong,” Cabot told the CBC News Network.

“And then, it was just this sudden, overwhelming, like, panic, because we’d hit something and there was nobody in control.”

Investigators are reviewing data from the flight recorder, which has already been recovered, to determine whether the pilots engaged maximum reverse thrust after identifying the fire truck on the runway.

Reverse thrust is a system that redirects engine exhaust forward, allowing the aircraft to decelerate more rapidly after landing.

Clément Lelièvre, a passenger from France, also described the braking as unusually forceful.

“I don’t know the circumstances, but I think he kind of saved our lives because he must have had incredible reflexes,” Lelièvre told the Canadian Press.

The aircraft, operated by Jazz Aviation, had departed from Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members.

Officials said 41 individuals were hospitalized following the crash, including two Port Authority first responders who were inside the fire truck at the time of the collision.

Video footage from the scene showed the aircraft striking the truck, leaving the emergency vehicle severely damaged and overturning it, while the front section of the plane sustained significant destruction.

A passenger recorded this video right after the deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport.

Two pilots died and 41 people were taken to hospital, with 31 later discharged.pic.twitter.com/F6l78L4ZDS https://t.co/Br7sULPwtB

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 24, 2026

Crash Footage➖ Video of the Impact

Air Canada CRJ-900 Plane collides with Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Vehicle after landing on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in New York Citypic.twitter.com/CUhqzDo6ru

— Biasedly Unbiased (@DiRealDan) March 23, 2026

Audio recordings from air traffic control captured a controller urgently warning, “Stop, stop, stop, stop!” moments before the impact.

“We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up”: Audio has been released of the air traffic controllers working at LaGuardia Airport in New York City when a deadly crash occurred on the runway on Sunday. Two pilots were killed when an Air Canada plane collided with a… pic.twitter.com/B31iUMIfcA

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 23, 2026

Authorities said Runway 4 remains closed as crews continue to remove debris from the crash site.

Officials described the amount of wreckage as substantial and indicated the closure could last several days while cleanup and investigation efforts continue.

The incident remains under investigation as authorities work to determine how the aircraft and emergency vehicle were on the runway at the same time.

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