When you’re driving on the highway, you don’t generally expect that you’re at risk of being hit by a commercial aircraft. Yet that’s exactly what happened today…
United 767 causes damage on New Jersey Turnpike
This incident happened today (Sunday, May 3, 2026), and involves United Airlines flight UA169, operating from Venice (VCE) to Newark (EWR). Specifically, the flight was operated by a 23-year-old Boeing 767-400ER with the registration code N77066, and there were 231 people onboard, including 221 passengers and 10 crew.
At around 1:50PM local time, after a roughly 8hr30min flight, the aircraft was on short final to Newark’s runway 19. It obviously approached too low, to the point that the plane hit both light poles and even a catering truck on the New Jersey Turnpike, just past the runway perimeter.
One video is taken from inside a car, and doesn’t show a direct impact, but you can hear people cursing, obviously in disbelief at what they saw.
Another video is from inside the bakery truck that was hit by the wheel of the aircraft (the wheel reportedly crashed into the driver’s window). The video is rather graphic, but fortunately it sounds like the driver wasn’t seriously injured.
The airline reports that the plane landed safely, taxied to the gate normally, and no passengers or crew were injured. The carrier’s maintenance team is now evaluating damage to the aircraft, as well as the cause of the incident.
It’s worth mentioning that United’s official statement only references that the plane “came into contact with a light pole,” and makes no mention of the truck it hit. So clearly they didn’t fully know the extent of this incident at first.
The FAA is now investigating this United 767 incident
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now investigating this incident, so let’s see what comes of this. There were no reports of any issues with the aircraft prior to the “contact,” so it sounds like the plane just ended up lower than it should’ve, for whatever reason.
Newark’s runway 29 is commonly used for landings, but it’s not terribly long, at 6,725 feet in length. That’s not problematically short, but it also means that pilots are trying to make sure they don’t land too far down the runway. Furthermore, with the New Jersey Turnpike right there, it makes for some dramatic approaches.
Just a few weeks ago, video footage was uploaded of a United Boeing 777-200ER making what looked like a dangerously low approach to the same runway, to the point that a person in the car was screaming.
While United still has a great safety record in the grand scheme of things, the airline does seem to have more takeoff and landing incidents than American and Delta (at least in terms of those that are widely talked about), and it’s hard to know what to make of that.
A couple of years ago, the FAA even increased oversight of United, due to a series of incidents. However, the investigation ultimately didn’t reveal any major systematic issues.
Bottom line
Earlier today, a United Boeing 767 had an eventful approach to Newark Airport, when it struck a light pole and a truck on the New Jersey Turnpike. While Newark’s runway 29 is known for some low approaches, this is obviously a major issue. Fortunately no one onboard the aircraft was injured, and it still landed safely. Furthermore, the driver of the truck didn’t sustain serious injuries, which is a relief.
What do you make of this strange United 767 incident?