The United Airlines flight that struck a light pole while landing at Newark Liberty International Airport was just 19 feet above the center of the New Jersey Turnpike moments before touchdown, according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board Thursday.
Flight data released by the NTSB shows the aircraft remained below the normal glide path for roughly the final three-quarters of a mile before the runway.
The incident happened in May as United Flight 169 was arriving from Venice, Italy. It crossed over the New Jersey Turnpike on approach going more than 160 miles per hour, according to flight tracking site FlightRadar24, when a tire from the plane’s landing gear and the underside of the plane collided with a pole.
At the time, the New Jersey State Police stated the plane also struck a tractor-trailer, but the NTSB found the damage to the truck was actually caused by debris from the pole.
No evidence of tire marks was found on the tractor-trailer, the report stated. The driver of the tractor-trailer sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The pole also struck a Jeep, according to the New Jersey State Police.
On May 3, as the plane was preparing to land, the captain stated he “turned off the autopilot and the auto-throttles” and “said that he ‘got fast’ while he turned the airplane into the headwind,” the report says.
He “pulled the power levers back to compensate,” and the plane “returned to a stable airspeed,” with wind gusts “producing ‘moderate turbulence,’” the NTSB reported.
Investigators said the first officer warned the captain, who was flying the Boeing 767, the aircraft was “slow” and “a little low” on approach. Multiple crewmembers later told investigators they heard or felt something abnormal as the plane was landing.
The pilot said he “heard a thump,” the first officer said he felt a “mild jolt,” and flight attendants at the rear of the plane said they “heard a loud bang,” the report details.
There were more than 200 passengers and 11 crew members on the Boeing 767, but no one onboard was hurt, and the plane landed normally.
When the NTSB arrived on-site, they found three punctures to the lower left side of the back of the airplane. The punctures affected all three elements of the fuselage structure, making the damage “substantial,” the NTSB said. There were also slashes through one of the plane’s tires.
The pilots and air traffic control did not appear to be aware the plane had struck the light pole upon landing, according to recordings of air traffic control communications captured by LiveATC.net.
The plane was landing on Newark’s Runway 29, which starts less than 400 feet from the edge of the busy New Jersey Turnpike. The runway is not always used, but when wind conditions are right, it can see numerous landings, which can startle drivers as planes pass at low altitudes over the highway.
The NTSB is still investigating, and a final report will be released after the investigation concludes.
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