A United Airlines Boeing 767 struck a light pole and a tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike while on final approach to Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday afternoon, injuring the truck's driver and prompting investigations by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane, Flight UA169 arriving from Venice, Italy, was carrying 221 passengers and 10 crew members. Cellphone video shows the aircraft flying unusually low over the turnpike before landing just after 2 p.m. Dash cam footage from inside the truck captures the moment of impact, with a frame-by-frame review showing what appears to be a landing gear wheel passing outside the driver's window.
New Jersey State Police said a preliminary investigation found that a tire from the landing gear and the underside of the plane hit both the pole and the tractor-trailer. The pole then struck a Jeep also traveling on the turnpike.
The truck was heading to Smith's Bakery depot in Newark and was about to exit the highway when it was hit. Chuck Paterakis, senior vice president at Baltimore-based H&S Bakery, identified the driver as Warren Boardley and said a landing gear tire went through the truck's window and windshield. Boardley was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, treated for glass in his arm and hand, and later released.
No passengers or crew aboard the plane were injured. United Airlines said the aircraft landed safely, taxied normally to the gate, and that its maintenance team was evaluating damage.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the plane was approaching Runway 29 when the collision occurred. Airport staff cleared the runway of debris, and normal operations resumed shortly afterward.
The NTSB launched an investigation Sunday. CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave said investigators would want to determine why the aircraft was flying too low and why no one in the cockpit caught the problem before impact. Possible factors under consideration include wind and a potential loss of situational awareness.
