A United Airlines jet came dangerously close to disaster Sunday when it hit a semitrailer truck and a light pole on the New Jersey turnpike as it came into land at Newark Liberty International Airport. Safety expert Steve Arroyo says that a catastrophe was avoided by mere feet.
United plane avoids catastrophe but strikes truck while landing at Newark airport. Anyone who drives that section of Interstate 95 near the airport is likely used to seeing planes coming in low and crossing over all the lanes of traffic as the planes get ready to land, but never this low.
Dashboard camera video from inside the truck showed the driver singing happily to himself, then glancing out his window with a slight look of concern as the sound of the jet’s whining engines begins on the recording. A moment later, part of the plane zooms into view out the driver’s side window. The video also shows the moment of impact. Typically, semitrucks are 13.5 feet tall, so the plane was quite low.
Chuck Paterakis, the vice president of the bakery company H&S Family of Bakeries, said the company is “relieved that everyone is safe, as that is our top priority. ” The bakery is cooperating with investigators. The pilots’ damage report wasn’t recorded because the crew opted to call the tower on the phone after landing instead of broadcasting the details over the radio.
But air traffic control audio posted by ATC.com revealed a discussion between an air traffic controller and a ground vehicle more than half an hour after the incident.
“They felt something over the threshold and there’s a hole in the side of the airplane,” the controller said. Patrick Oyulu, of Edison, New Jersey, was among those on the turnpike when the plane struck the truck. He posted a short video showing the aftermath of the collision as the huge plane barely cleared the road and landed on the runway.
“The plane seemed to come in almost directly over the highway,” Oyulu recounted in a message to The Associated Press. He said the truck appeared to swerve sharply and smoke could be seen coming from it after the aircraft apparently made contact.
“I never expected a plane that low, and never expected I would see the undercarriage of a plane of that magnitude bearing overhead, with such noise and gust of wind,” Oyulu said. NTSB investigators arrived on scene on Monday to interview the flight crew and begin working to figure out how and why this happened. But the NTSB may not offer many details about what happened until it publishes its preliminary report roughly a month from now.
The agency does not plan any news conferences on this accident. Runway 29, where the plane landed, is the shortest runway at the airport at 6,726 feet , and it is generally only used when there are strong winds like there were on Sunday afternoon. The other two Newark runways are 11,000 feet long. An air traffic controller told pilots at the time that the winds were gusting up to 31 mph .
Arroyo said that investigators will definitely look at how well the United crew planned for the contingency that they would have to land on Runway 29 and exactly what data they had entered into their flight control system and navigational aids in the cockpit. He said those systems can help keep pilots on track in the glidepath before they have to take the controls and complete the landing visually.
“It’s one of the most challenging approaches in the world,” Arroyo said. “The margin of error is extremely low. ” Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration, said investigators will likely also look at whether fatigue could have been a factor after the long flight from Italy. The NTSB directed United to preserve the cockpit voice and flight data recorders for investigators to examine.
The airline said the pilots have been put on leave while the accident is investigated. In 1985, Delta Flight 191 was coming in to land at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport when a microburst of wind during a thunderstorm sent the plane down into the ground, striking a vehicle. The plane then plowed into airport water tanks. A total of 137 people died in that crash, including the vehicle’s driver.
Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers transportation including aviation safety and airlines along with all the major freight railroads. Funk also covers Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, the impact of the ongoing bird flu outbreak, agriculture and other news out of the Midwest.519
General News Steve Arroyo New Jersey National Transportation Safety Board New York City New York Patrick Oyulu Business Accidents Jeff Guzzetti U.S. News Chuck Paterakis Newark
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Passenger detained at Newark Airport after altercation on United Airlines flight, police sayA passenger was detained at Newark Airport in New Jersey on Saturday after an altercation on board a United Airlines flight, police said.
Read more »
United Airlines jet hits light pole, damages delivery truck while landing at Newark Liberty AirportA United Airlines passenger jet carrying 221 passengers from Venice, Italy, struck a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike on Sunday afternoon as it was coming in for a landing at Newark Liberty International Airport. The airline said none of the passengers or 10 crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 169 were injured.
Read more »
Driver on N.J. Turnpike hurt as United plane hits pole on approach to Newark airportJoe Kottke is an assignment editor at NBC News covering domestic news, including politics, immigration, crime, entertainment and severe weather.
Read more »
United flight landing in Newark strikes pole on New Jersey Turnpike, damages delivery truckA United Airlines passenger jet carrying 221 passengers from Venice, Italy, struck a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike on Sunday afternoon as it was coming in for a landing at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Read more »
United Airlines plane hits truck driver on descent into Newark airportDespite the collision, the flight of 221 passengers and 10 crew members landed safely, with the aircraft sustaining only moderate damage.
Read more »
United Airlines Plane Strikes Pole and Truck Near Newark AirportA United Airlines flight arriving from Venice, Italy, struck a light pole and a truck while landing at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday. The truck driver sustained minor injuries. No injuries were reported among the 231 people on board the plane. Investigations are underway by the NTSB and United Airlines.
Read more »