A United Airlines Boeing 767 on flight 169 from Venice grazed a light pole and struck a trailer truck last Sunday while attempting to land at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, in an incident that was recorded by the truck's own camera.
The aircraft, registered as N77066, was directed to runway 29 at Newark—the shortest runway at the airport—due to wind conditions at that time, around 2:00 p.m. local time.
During the final approach, the landing gear and the underside of the aircraft brushed against a light pole located over the lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), one of the busiest highways in the country. The knocked-down pole struck the roof of the truck that was passing underneath at that moment.
The vehicle belonged to Baker's Express, part of H&S Family of Bakeries, and was transporting bakery products to a warehouse at Newark Airport.
Chuck Paterakis, Vice President of Transportation at Schmidt Bakery, confirmed that the driver “
The driver, Warren Boardley, from Baltimore, sustained minor injuries—cuts on his arm and forearm from broken glass—and was hospitalized and discharged the same day.
On board the plane were 221 passengers and 10 crew members, all unharmed. The aircraft was able to land smoothly and taxi normally to the boarding gate after the impact.
United Airlines removed the pilots from active duty and issued a statement saying, "Our maintenance team is assessing damage to the aircraft, and we will investigate how this occurred."
Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have opened formal investigations. The NTSB has ordered United Airlines to secure the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, with a preliminary report expected in 30 days.
The incident is technically classified as a collision with aerial structures. Runway 29 at Newark requires aircraft to fly exceptionally low over the Turnpike during the final approach, with a narrower margin for error than other runways at the airport.
This isn't the first time something similar has happened: in 1982, a Boeing 727 from Pan Am had already brushed against a vehicle on that same highway during an aborted takeoff from Newark.
The incident occurs in a context of growing concern over air safety in the United States. On March 23, an Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York, resulting in at least two fatalities and 70 injuries.
Before that incident, in January 2025, American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a military helicopter near Reagan Airport in Washington D.C., resulting in 67 fatalities.
United Airlines has also been involved in other recent incidents: in 2023, an aircraft from the company collided with a Delta plane at Boston Airport, and in October 2025, two Delta planes experienced a ground collision at another U.S. airport, adding to a series of events that keeps the entire industry under scrutiny.
The series of air accidents and incidents in the United States over the past 16 months has intensified the debate on safety standards in commercial aviation, and the Newark case adds a new variable: the dangerous proximity of certain runways to high-traffic road infrastructures.
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