Memorial to remember Quebec pilot who died in LaGuardia crash
Posted March 25, 2026 1:51 pm.
Last Updated April 16, 2026 12:11 pm.
A memorial was setup alongside a runway at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport in Dorval to remember the Quebec Air Canada co-pilot that died in the LaGuardia crash on Sunday night – when it collided with a fire truck while landing.
On Wednesday, a black and white photo of 30-year-old Antoine Forest could be seen on a fence – along with two white roses. A bouquet of flowers was also placed below it. And later a colour picture of him put up in the nearby Jacques-de-Lesseps Park – right in front of benches.
It’s unclear who put the memorial together, but it sits in view of Air Canada planes coming and going.
Mackenzie Gunther, from Ontario, was identified as the other pilot killed in Sunday’s crash.
The brother of Forest shared an emotional message on social media Monday following the tragedy.
Cédric Forest paid tribute to his brother in a heartfelt post:
“Have a good flight, my brother. Oh yes, we’ve heard that phrase often, but this time it will be the last. You were always coming and going, always full of new projects. You left us again, too soon to say goodbye. I love you, my brother. You can leave with your head held high.”
His death has sparked a wave of sympathy in his hometown of Coteau-du-Lac, in the Montérégie region.
Since Monday afternoon, “many citizens” have been calling the Coteau-du-Lac town hall to offer their condolences to the family.
“So we redirect these people to our Facebook page” where “we made a post” and “we tell them to leave a comment,” Mayor Andrée Rousseau explained to The Canadian Press.
The population of Coteau-du-Lac is 7,800 people, so “everyone knows someone who knows the family” and his death “is an event that shakes” the community.
Messages of sympathy on social media, “hundreds and hundreds”, sometimes come from beyond the region, said the City’s communications manager, Louis-Cédrik Leduc, explaining that American citizens have also expressed their sadness to the City.
Before becoming an airline pilot, Forest was a bush pilot and, during the forest fires of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he had worked on the operations of the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) as an air pointing pilot.
“He was a very kind, very professional colleague and appreciated by all,” wrote SOPFEU in a post where it offered “its sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones” of pilot Forest and first assistant Mackenzie Gunther, who also died in the accident.
-With files from Stéphane Blais, La Presse Canadienne
