The so-called ‘black box’ containing critical flight data has been recovered from the wreckage of an Air Canada flight as federal authorities work to determine what may have caused it to crash into a firetruck at New York’s LaGuardia International Airport.

Members of the National Transportation Safety Board worked with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as first responders, to cut a hole in the plane, which allowed them to drop down into the wreckage and retrieve the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder.

The devices have since been sent to labs in Washington DC, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference on Monday, noting that investigators have ‘been able to at least verify that the cockpit voice recorder was not damaged.’

Twenty-five specialists will now be on site to investigate the fatal crash, which took the lives of Antoine Forest, 30, of Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec, and his first officer MacKenzie Gunther.

More than 40 others were injured in the collision at around 11.45pm on Sunday, including New York City-area firefighters Sergeant Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez.

They are expected to survive, along with flight attendant Solange Tremblay, who was hurled 330 feet from the aircraft.

As the investigation into the collision now continues, air traffic control audio revealed the truck had been cleared to cross the runway for an unrelated issue before controllers urgently ordered it to ‘stop, stop, stop’ moments before impact.

Speaking to reporters in Florida on Monday morning in response to the collision, President Trump said: ‘They made a mistake. It’s a dangerous business. That’s terrible.’

LaGuardia was shutdown until the early afternoon due to the crash, forcing thousands of passenger to scramble while airports across the country are facing severe delays due to the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.

Follow here for the latest updates to the crash. 

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Cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder retrieved

NTSB investigators have been able to retrieve the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, Jennifer Homendy told reporters.

In order to retrieve the devices, she said the NTSB, Port Authority and emergency responders had to cut a hole in the roof of the aircraft and drop down to secure them.

They were then taken back to labs in Washington DC, and investigators have ‘been able to at least verify that the cockpit voice recorder was not damaged,’ Homendy said.

Pilot killed in Air Canada crash identified

One of the pilots killed in the Air Canada collision at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday has been identified as Antoine Forest.

Forest, 30, is from Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec, broadcaster TVA Nouvelles reported.

According to his social media, he had worked as a CRJ First Officer with Jazz Aviation since December 2022.

He studied aviation at Cegep de Chicoutim and previously worked as a pilot with Air Saguenay and Exact Air.

Forest was one of the two pilots killed in the crash, and at least 41 other people were hospitalized.

A firetruck was crossing the tarmac just before midnight after being given permission to check another plane reporting an odor on board when the regional jet landed on the runway.

The impact crushed the plane’s nose, leaving cables and debris dangling from the mangled cockpit.

Air Canada Jazz pilot Antoine Forest on his facebook page

Surviving flight attendant’s daughter says she is injured but alive

The flight attendant who was strapped into a jump seat and violently thrown dozens of feet outside an Air Canada aircraft when it collided with a truck has been identified as Solange Tremblay.

Tremblay’s daughter, Sarah Lépine, told Quebec broadcaster TVA Nouvelles that her mother suffered a broken leg requiring surgery, but did not sustain any other serious injuries.

‘I’m still trying to understand how all this happened, but she truly must have had a guardian angel watching over her,’ she said.

Solange Tremblay - Air Jazz flight attendant on her facebook page