By Aaron Cooper, CNN
A still image taken from video shows a United Airlines Boeing 767 landing at Newark Liberty International Airport after apparently damaging a streetlight (circled) and truck.
Photo: Screengrab
An aeroplane landing at a US airport has hit a street light and a truck on a nearby highway, injuring the truck’s driver, New Jersey state police say.
The United Airlines Boeing 767, flying from Venice, Italy, and landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, was going more than 255 kilometres an hour (160 miles/hr) when it crossed over the New Jersey Turnpike, just outside the airport on Sunday, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24.
A preliminary investigation shows a tire from the plane’s landing gear and the underside of the plane “collided with a pole and a tractor-trailer. The pole then struck a Jeep,” New Jersey State Police spokesman Charles Marchan said in a statement.
“The driver of the tractor-trailer sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to an area hospital.”
Patrick Oyulu was driving on the highway when he saw the low flying plane and felt a huge gust of wind go over him.
“It was just coming directly in front of the truck … I just saw smoke and debris,” he told CNN. “I think (the truck was) trying to evasively manoeuvre out of its way or something, but they were cornered.”
More than 200 passengers and 10 crew members were on board the plane, the airline said.
“The aircraft landed safely, taxied to the gate normally and no passengers or crew were injured,” United said in a statement. “Our maintenance team is evaluating damage to the aircraft.”
“We will conduct a rigourous flight safety investigation into the incident and our crew has been removed from service as part of the process,” United said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending an investigator to Newark and will analyse the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder as part of their investigation, the agency announced.
Runway 29, where the plane landed, starts less than 122 metres (400 feet) from the edge of the busy New Jersey Turnpike. It 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 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 767 was given instructions to taxi to the gate as other aircraft continued to land on the same runway.
– CNN