A United Airlines jet arriving from Venice, Italy, struck a light pole and a tractor-trailer while approaching Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday, then landed safely with everyone on board unharmed. Federal investigators are now trying to determine how a commercial airliner came so close to traffic on one of the busiest roadways in New Jersey.
The aircraft was United Flight 169, a Boeing 767-400 carrying 221 passengers and 10 crew members, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. The incident happened around 2 p.m. as the plane came in on final approach to Newark after crossing the Atlantic from Italy.
🚨🇺🇸#BREAKING | NEWS ⚠️
— Todd Paron🇺🇸🇬🇷🎧👽 (@tparon) May 4, 2026
Update New release of the
Air traffic control audio after
a United Airlines flight number (#UA169) Boeing 767
arriving from 🇮🇹Venice, Italy to Newark liberty airport in New Jersey.
When on the approach to runway 29 when it crashed into a truck and a… pic.twitter.com/feWF8g7Nod
What officials say happened
A preliminary investigation by New Jersey State Police found that the aircraft’s tire and underside hit a light pole and a tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike while the plane was approaching the runway. The pole also struck a Jeep traveling nearby, according to officials.
Despite the impact, the plane continued to Newark and landed without further incident. The Port Authority said no one on the aircraft was injured, though the truck driver suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from a hospital.
United removes crew from service
United said its maintenance team is evaluating the plane for damage and that the flight crew has been removed from service while the airline conducts its own safety review. Reuters reported that the airline described the investigation as a “rigorous” one.
That step is important because it shows the airline is treating the event as a serious safety matter, even though the plane made it to the gate safely. This is an inference based on United’s decision to pull the crew from duty and begin an internal review.
Federal investigators are stepping in
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have both opened investigations. The NTSB said an investigator would arrive in Newark on Monday and directed United to secure the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.
Airport crews also inspected the runway for debris after the landing, and normal operations resumed soon afterward. That suggests the damage was limited enough that the airport did not need a prolonged shutdown.
Why this incident is drawing so much attention
This was not a minor scrape on the ground after landing. It happened during final approach, when a widebody international jet was descending low enough to hit objects beside a public highway. That is why the story is spreading so quickly and why investigators are likely to examine altitude, approach path, and surrounding infrastructure very closely. This is an inference based on the confirmed collision sequence and the agencies involved.
Readers can follow official developments through the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. For now, the central fact is both simple and unsettling: a United jet hit roadside objects on approach to Newark, and only then managed to land safely.