United jet causes violent crash after striking freeway light pole

A United Airlines pilot struck a freeway light pole during a violent crash on approach to land at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Sunday. Dashcam video from inside a bakery truck on the New Jersey Turnpike shows the driver glancing out the passenger window as the roar of a Boeing 767 grows louder. Less than a second later, the perspective shifts as the aircraft slams into a light pole, with the impact captured from inside the moving vehicle. Details remain limited, but preliminary reports indicate the bakery truck’s driver was hospitalized. His condition was not immediately available. United Flight 169 had departed earlier in the day from Marco Polo Airport in Venice, Italy, and was ultimately able to land safely at Newark. Federal Aviation Administration officials said the aircraft taxied to the gate normally and that no passengers or crew members were injured. A maintenance team was evaluating damage to the aircraft, and United Airlines said it had opened what it described as a “rigorous” flight safety investigation. The airline acknowledged the incident, saying in a statement that the aircraft “came into contact with a light pole” during its final approach to Newark. In a statement posted to X, the National Transportation Safety Board said it was launching an investigation into the crash. “The agency has directed United Airlines to secure and provide both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder to support the investigation,” federal officials said. “A preliminary report outlining the facts and circumstances of the event is expected within 30 days.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.