A United Airlines plane hit a delivery truck from a Baltimore bakery Sunday while the passenger jet was attempting to land at Newark International Airport, police said.
New Jersey State Police said the landing gear from United Flight 169 clipped the H&S Bakery truck shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday as the driver was heading north on the New Jersey Turnpike. The underside of the plane also hit a light pole during its final approach.
Chuck Paterakis, the co-principal at H&S Bakery, said the driver was en route to Smith’s Bakery depot in Newark when a tire on the landing gear crashed into the top of the vehicle.
Mr. Paterakis said the driver escaped with minor injuries after being cut by glass from the shattered windshield and windows.
“To me, that everybody on that plane, everybody and the driver, God was looking after them, there’s no doubt,” the executive told the National News Desk, a TV news program. “If we did that scenario again, I don’t know if anybody could’ve survived that.”
Dashcam video from inside the truck’s cabin showed the driver singing to himself as he approached his exit on the turnpike.
A plane can be heard briefly overheard, and then a loud crash as the landing gear strikes the cabin.
“Upon its final approach into Newark International Airport, United flight 169 came into contact with a light pole,” the airline said in a statement. “The aircraft landed safely, taxied to the gate normally and no passengers or crew were injured. Our maintenance team is evaluating damage to the aircraft and we will investigate how this occurred.”
United said Flight 169 was arriving from Venice, Italy, and was carrying 221 passengers and 10 crew members on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into the crash.
