United flight collides with truck and light pole as it lands at Newark airport

NEWARK — A United Airlines passenger jet carrying 221 passengers from Venice, Italy, struck a light pole and a tractor-trailer on the nearby highway on Sunday afternoon as it was coming in for a landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, authorities said. The airline said none of the passengers or 10 crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 169 were injured. The New Jersey State Police said a landing tire and the underside of the plane hit the truck, and the light pole then struck a Jeep that was on the highway. The driver of the truck was taken to hospital with minor injuries and was released, said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration said the Boeing 767 aircraft landed safely after it “came into contact with a light pole” on its final approach to Newark. The plane was going more than 160 miles an hour when it crossed over the New Jersey Turnpike, just outside of the airport, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24. Dashcam video from the truck showed the driver traveling along the road as the sound of the plane’s engines grew louder. Suddenly, the plane’s landing gear tires struck the truck, shaking it and sending shards of glass flying. The truck driver, Warren Boardley of Baltimore, was heading north on the turnpike to deliver bread products to a Newark airport depot when the incident occurred, according to CNN. Boardley sustained cuts to his arm from broken glass but did not suffer serious injuries and was able to pull over safely. The pilots and air traffic control did not appear to be aware the plane had struck the light pole upon landing, according to recordings of air traffic control communications captured by LiveATC.net. The 767 was given instructions to taxi to the gate as other aircraft continued to land on the same runway. Air traffic controllers reported “a hole in the side of the airplane” to an operations vehicle preparing to inspect the runway about half an hour after the landing, according to another recording from LiveATC.net. When asked about air traffic control recording, United told CNN its maintenance team was evaluating damage to the aircraft and promised “a rigorous flight safety investigation into the incident.” “The aircraft landed safely, taxied to the gate normally and no passengers or crew were injured,” United said, noting the plane’s crew has been removed from service as part of the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending an investigator to Newark and will analyze the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder as part of their investigation, the agency announced. Runway 29, where the plane landed, starts less than 400 feet from the edge of the busy New Jersey Turnpike. It is not always used, but when wind conditions are right, it can see numerous landings, which can startle drivers as planes pass at low altitudes over the highway.