A Close Shave with Fate United Flight Strikes Truck During Newark Approach

NEWARK, NJ — They say Newark Liberty is one of the toughest airports to land at, but Sunday afternoon took that reputation to a terrifying new level.

In a scene that looks more like a high-budget action movie than a Sunday commute, United Airlines Flight 169—a massive Boeing 767 arriving from Venice—literally “brushed” with disaster. As the jet descended toward the runway at approximately 2:00 p.m., its landing gear clipped a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike before slamming into a moving tractor-trailer.

“A Little Help from God”

The truck, owned by Baltimore-based H&S Bakery, was headed to a local depot when the unthinkable happened. Heart-stopping dashcam video shows the driver, Warren Boardley, minding his own business when the high-pitched scream of jet engines is suddenly replaced by the sound of shattering glass and twisting metal.

One of the aircraft’s massive tires actually smashed directly into the driver-side window.

“Everybody on that plane, and the driver… God was looking after them,” said Chuck Paterakis, Senior VP of H&S Bakery. “If we did that scenario again, I don’t know if anybody could’ve survived.”

Miraculously, Boardley walked away with only minor injuries from the flying glass. He was treated at a local hospital and has since been released.

The View from the Cockpit

While the ground was in chaos, the 221 passengers and 10 crew members onboard the flight from Italy reportedly had no idea they had just used a bakery truck as a speed bump. The plane continued its descent and landed safely on the tarmac without further incident.

United Airlines hasn’t wasted any time in addressing the freak accident. In an official statement, the airline confirmed:

• The Crew: The flight crew has been removed from service pending a “rigorous flight safety investigation.”
• The Plane: Maintenance teams are currently scouring the Boeing 767 for damage to the landing gear and underbelly.

Investigation Looming

The FAA and NTSB are now picking through the wreckage of the light pole and the damaged truck to figure out how a seasoned crew ended up so low on their final approach. Was it a mechanical failure, or a terrifying lapse in altitude management?

For the drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike, it’s a stark reminder that sometimes, the danger doesn’t come from the car in the next lane—it comes from the sky.

Photo by H. Kamran on Unsplash