‘We couldn’t hold back our tears’: Former Air Canada Jazz pilot pays respects to Antoine Forest

Ex-Air Canada Jazz pilot Julian Compton felt compelled to put on his old uniform and stand in the rain to pay his respects to pilot Antoine Forest.

Former Air Canada Jazz pilot Julian Compton was among the hundreds of pilots and flight staff who braved the cold and waited in the rain, lining up in front of Air Canada’s Montreal headquarters to honour a fallen colleague.

Capt. Antoine Forest and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther were both killed in a collision on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Sunday.

Air Canada Express Flight AC8646, operated by Jazz Aviation, slammed into a firetruck that was given clearance to cross the runway to respond to a separate incident with another airplane.

The National Transportation Safety Board – an American federal agency – is leading the investigation, with the collaboration of investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Forest’s remains arrived at Montreal Trudeau International Airport shortly after sundown on Thursday evening.

“You know, in the aviation community we are a brotherhood of professionals, and we are united by wings. I felt an obligation. I felt compelled to pull out my old uniform and join my aviation brothers and sisters,” said Compton.

“It became very, very emotional,” he added. “We couldn’t hold back our tears.”

Compton worked for Jazz Aviation for 11 years, and flew the CRJ-900 aircraft, the same model of regional jet involved in the deadly crash.

“On a wet runaway, you cannot just come to a full stop on a dime. It was either to make the decision to swerve left or to swerve right – which could have resulted in everyone dying – or just slam on the brakes as hard as you can and try to bring the aircraft to a stop.”

Compton added the pilots likely had only split seconds to respond to the unexpected situation on the runway.

“They’re moving down the runway at considerable speed even though they’re decelerating. Picture yourself driving down a highway at 100km an hour or more and suddenly a vehicle pulls out in front of your just like that. There’s almost little or no time to react.”

To watch CTV News Montreal anchor Maya Johnson’s full interview with Julian Compton, watch the video above.