A New Jersey truck driver came away with only minor injuries after his vehicle was hit by a United Airlines passenger plane as it came in to land at Newark airport on Sunday afternoon, according to multiple U.S. media reports.
The New Jersey State Police told The Associated Press that a landing tire and the plane’s underside struck the truck, and that a light pole also hit a Jeep on the busy highway running adjacent to the airport.
Dashcam footage reportedly recorded from inside the truck, which belongs to Baltimore-based H&S Bakery, according to NBC News and the Guardian, captured the moment it was struck by the aircraft.
The driver can be seen looking over his shoulder moments before the plane strikes.
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He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and later released, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, said, the AP reported.
Chuck Paterakis, senior vice-president of transportation and logistics at the Baltimore business, told CBS News that the driver was on his way to a bakery depot in Newark and was close to exiting the highway when the truck was clipped by the descending aircraft.
Meanwhile, the airline said none of the 221 passengers or 10 crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 169 from Venice, Italy, were injured, the AP reported.
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 agency added.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in an X post that she was aware of the incident.
“I’ve been briefed on the incident involving United Flight 169 at Newark Liberty International Airport. I’m grateful the aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew are unharmed,” she wrote.
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Planes landing at Newark glide in low over multiple lanes of traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike, one of the most congested parts of Interstate 95. The runway begins a stone’s throw from the edge of the highway.
Port Authority officials confirmed to U.S. media that an object was hit and that a delivery truck driving on the turnpike at the time was also damaged.
Airport staff observed minimal damage to the aircraft and inspected the runway for debris before normal operations resumed, the agency said.
United said its maintenance team was evaluating damage to the aircraft and that the crew had been removed from service while it conducted a “rigorous” flight safety investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board said an NTSB investigator would arrive in Newark on Monday and that it had directed United to provide the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder for the investigation.
A preliminary report was expected within 30 days, the NTSB said.
— with files from The Associated Press
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