United Airlines Flight 169 from Venice touched down safely at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday afternoon after striking a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike in the final moments of its approach, authorities said. The Boeing 767, carrying 221 passengers and 10 crew members, also clipped a delivery truck on the busy highway that runs parallel to the airport’s runway.
No injuries were reported among the passengers or crew, the airline said. The New Jersey State Police said the pole that was struck then hit a Jeep on the turnpike, and the driver of the delivery truck was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and released, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft “came into contact with a light pole” on its final approach. Airport staff inspected the runway for debris, and normal operations resumed quickly, the port authority said. Minor damage to the aircraft was observed.
United said its maintenance team was evaluating the damage and that the flight crew had been removed from service while the airline conducts a “rigorous” flight safety investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board said an investigator would arrive in Newark on Monday and that it had directed United to provide the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, the agency said.
The runway’s threshold sits close to the edge of the New Jersey Turnpike, one of the most congested stretches of Interstate 95, where landing aircraft routinely pass low over traffic.