NTSB Report: United Jet Struck Light Pole, Not Truck, Near Newark Airport

The National Transportation Safety Board released new details Thursday about a United flight that hit a light pole last month.

Drivers on Interstate 95 regularly see planes flying low as they prepare to land at Newark Liberty International Airport. On May 3, United Flight 169, flying from Venice, Italy, was just 15 feet above the New Jersey Turnpike as it approached the runway. There were 230 passengers and crew aboard when it hit a light pole. The NTSB noted that the light pole then struck a delivery truck.

Investigators said the pilot was assigned several runway changes because of strong winds minutes before the incident. Eventually, the pilot was instructed to land on Newark Airport’s shortest runway.

NTSB Report: United Jet Struck Light Pole, Not Truck

Initially, law enforcement believed the plane had struck the truck. However, the report released Thursday stated that debris from the impact injured the driver.

The report stated that the first officer warned the captain during the descent that “you are still slow and a little low.”  The first officer said that he even looked outside right before touchdown thinking that the plane was a bit too low over the turnpike. However, at that point, it was already too late to change anything. 

Moments later, the plane struck the light pole, which then fell onto a delivery truck, damaging the windshield and injuring the driver.

Heard a Thump

Dashboard camera footage from inside the delivery truck captured the moment of impact. The driver was singing while driving when he glanced toward his window after hearing the plane’s engine.

According to the NTSB report, the captain “heard a thump” and felt a mild “jolt” shortly before touchdown.  

Passengers deplaned normally, but the plane sustained “substantial damage” to its fuselage. 

An expert said, “The NTSB is going to want to go back and say what is it about this approach, this runway, how can we take out the possibility of error that almost led to tragedy in this case.”

The truck driver’s father spoke out after the incident, saying, “Imagine that, struck by a plane, generally nobody walks away from a plane crash, nobody.”