A newly surfaced image from an airport security camera apparently shows the moment a United Airlines Boeing 767-400 hit a tractor-trailer while landing at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on May 3, 2026.
The image captures United Flight 169 seconds before touchdown, with the widebody jet descending over the New Jersey Turnpike and its landing gear directly above the roof of the truck.
The aircraft was arriving from Venice, Italy, with 221 passengers and 10 crew members when it struck a light pole and hit the truck during final approach to EWR’s Runway 29, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and United Airlines.
The aircraft landed safely and taxied to the gate. United said no passengers or crew members were injured.
The image, captured from a fixed security camera, shows the aircraft crossing the Turnpike at very low altitude, with vehicles, highway barriers and airport infrastructure visible beneath it. The angle appears to show the aircraft’s main landing gear at or near the top of the truck as it passed over the roadway.
Separate video from inside the truck captured the moment the aircraft struck the tractor-trailer, with what appears to be firm and somewhat violent contact with the vehicle. In still frames of that video, what appears to be the United jetliner’s landing gear can be seen outside the truck’s left window.
Authorities have not publicly authenticated the security camera image, but it appears to be consistent with official and local accounts of the incident, which the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed the aircraft struck the light pole and truck on the Turnpike, causing damage to the pole, the tractor-trailer and the aircraft. The pole reportedly also struck another vehicle on the highway.
New Jersey State Police said a tire from the aircraft’s landing gear and part of the underside of the aircraft hit the tractor-trailer and the light pole, according to local reporting.
The truck driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Local reports said the truck was carrying bread products and that the driver suffered cuts from broken glass to his arm.
The FAA said the incident happened around 14:00 local time.
The NTSB has opened an investigation and directed United to provide the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. The agency said an investigator was expected to arrive in Newark on May 4, 2026. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days.
United said its maintenance team was evaluating damage to the aircraft. The airline also said the crew had been removed from duty while it conducts an investigation.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 identified the aircraft as N77066, a Boeing 767-400ER.
Runway 29’s approach path crosses near the New Jersey Turnpike, where arriving aircraft can appear unusually low before crossing the runway threshold.
The image, however, underscores the central question facing investigators: how a widebody aircraft on final approach came close enough to roadway traffic and airport-area infrastructure to make contact before reaching the runway.
Airport staff inspected the runway for debris after the incident, and normal operations resumed, according to the Port Authority.
