A delivery truck driver sustained only minor injuries after his tractor-trailer was struck by a passenger jet landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, according to officials.
Incident Details
New Jersey State Police reported that a landing tire and the underside of a United Airlines Boeing 767, arriving from Venice, Italy, hit the truck. The aircraft also clipped a light pole, which subsequently struck a Jeep. The driver, identified as Warren Boardley, suffered cuts from broken glass to his arm and forearm. He was treated at a hospital and later discharged, as confirmed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Driver's Account
Boardley's name was released by Chuck Paterakis, vice-president of transportation for Schmidt Bakery and owner of H&S Family of Bakeries in Baltimore. Paterakis stated that Boardley was driving an H&S truck loaded with bread products to a depot at Newark airport when the collision occurred. A dashboard camera video from the truck captured the moment of impact and circulated widely on social media. In the footage, Boardley can be heard singing, placing his cellphone on the dashboard, and glancing to his right in alarm before a loud screech and crash as glass shards fill the frame. He managed to pull over and call his employer.
Paterakis expressed relief, saying, "Everybody – the driver and everybody on the plane – should be very fortunate. Because it could have been the opposite of what happened, and a little help from God went a long way tonight."
Airport and Airline Response
Port Authority officials noted only minor damage to United Flight 169, which landed safely. Normal airport operations resumed quickly after runway inspection. United Airlines stated that its maintenance team began evaluating the aircraft and removed the crew from service as part of a rigorous flight safety investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said an investigator would arrive on Monday and directed United to provide cockpit voice and flight data recorders.
Context of Recent Incidents
Sunday's event occurred just over a month after an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia airport, killing two pilots and injuring over 40 people. About 14 months prior, a mid-air collision over the Potomac River near Washington DC between a regional American Airlines jet and a military helicopter killed more than 60 people.
Planes approaching Newark's main runway fly low over multiple lanes of traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike, part of Interstate 95, which is typically congested. The runway is just past the highway's edge.
