Long before Captain Antoine Forest’s name was linked to the LaGuardia runway tragedy, he had already shared the kind of image that quietly explained why flying mattered to him. Forest, a Quebec pilot from Coteau-du-Lac who worked for Jazz Aviation, was identified as one of the two pilots killed when an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 arriving from Montreal collided with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia on March 22, 2026. The aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, and the crash left dozens injured while investigations by U.S. and Canadian authorities moved forward. In the days after the collision, an older Instagram post of Forest’s drew renewed attention: a serene in-flight view from above, paired with a short caption about why he wanted to be a pilot. What once read like a simple reflection suddenly felt deeply personal, as though it captured the wonder and purpose that had guided him long before the world learned his name.

That contrast is what makes the post so moving now. Public memory of the final flight has been shaped by emergency audio, confusion on the ground, and the devastating loss of both pilots. Survivor accounts have also made the moment even more emotional, with passengers describing the crew as calm and heroic in the face of danger. Against that backdrop, Forest’s old photo feels less like a social media post and more like a quiet memorial — a reminder that behind the headlines was a man who genuinely loved the sky, adventure, and the perspective flying gave him. In the aftermath, tributes from passengers, his hometown, and those who found his post online have turned that image into something lasting: not just a memory of a pilot, but of someone who seemed to feel awe every time he looked down from above.