United Airlines plane hits bakery truck during landing
Dash camera video showed the frightening moment when a wheel from a United Airlines plane slammed into a bakery delivery truck that was traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Around 2 p.m. on Sunday, United Flight 169 from Venice, Italy, attempted to land at Newark Liberty International Airport but flew too close to traffic as it made its final approach.
The driver of a truck for H&S Family of Bakeries was seen in the video cruising along the highway when the aircraft made impact. Debris flew across the roadway and the aircraft also struck a light pole as it came in for landing.
"Based on a preliminary investigation, while a United Airlines Aircraft was approaching the runway, a landing tire and the underside of the plane collided with a pole and a tractor-trailer," NJ State Police said in a statement. "The pole then struck a Jeep traveling on the NJTPK. The driver of the tractor-trailer sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to an area hospital."
Aviation expert and ABC News contributor Steve Ganyard told "Good Morning America" on Monday that "this aircraft was literally inches from disaster. Clearly, we saw [the crew] fighting that altitude as they come in."
The driver of the delivery truck was identified by his employer as Warren Boardley and was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released for minor injuries.
United said the aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries reported on board.
"We will conduct a rigorous flight safety investigation," the Chicago-based carrier said in a statement to ABC News. "Our crew has been removed from service as part of the process."
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.
The NTSB released a statement on Monday, saying, "Sunday’s event involving a United Airlines Boeing 767 that struck a light pole on final approach to Runway 29 at Newark Liberty International Airport has been classified as an accident due to the extent of damage to the airplane. An NTSB investigator arrived in Newark this morning to conduct interviews of the flight crew. The investigation will examine multiple factors, including flight operations, meteorological conditions, human performance, crew resource management, aircraft performance and air traffic control."
United has been ordered to secure the cockpit voice recorder, as well as the flight data recorder for the investigation.
