A United Airlines Boeing 767-400 carrying 221 passengers and 10 crew members struck a light pole and a tractor-trailer while coming in for a landing at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
The flight, United Flight 169 from Venice, Italy, landed safely after the incident, which occurred around 2 pm on the final approach to the airport.
ðŸ¨#BREAKING: Watch as dashcam video shows a United Airlines flight clipping a light pole during landing before striking a bakery truck on the ground, leaving the truck driver hospitalized.
📌#Newark | #NewJersey
Watch as dashcam footage from a bakery truck captures the moment pic.twitter.com/OXw3xUVvtu
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) May 3, 2026
Close call on final approach
The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft landed safely after it “came into contact with a light pole” on approach.
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United said its maintenance team was evaluating the damage and that it would conduct a “rigorous” flight safety investigation, while the crew was removed from service during the review.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said no one aboard the plane was hurt and that airport staff inspected the runway for debris before operations resumed.
🇺🇠United Airlines Boeing 767-400 crashed into a light pole during landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, then fell onto a bread delivery truck on a New Jersey highway.
The aircrafts passengers were unharmed, but the truck driver was hospitalized with pic.twitter.com/17ERD0Wy75
— Prime (@nucleusprime) May 4, 2026
Near-ground collision spills onto busy turnpike
State police said the underside and a tire of the aircraft hit both the pole and the tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike.
The pole then struck a Jeep traveling on the highway. The truck driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and later released, according to the Port Authority.
CBS News reported that dashcam footage captured the moment the plane struck the truck, though officials have not said what caused the aircraft to come in so low.
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Black box data to decode what went wrong
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened investigations into the incident. The NTSB said an investigator was scheduled to arrive in Newark on Monday and had directed United to secure and provide the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder for the probe.
A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, the NTSB said.
