A United Airlines jet that clipped a light pole while landing at Newark Airport last month came perilously close to the ground, according to a preliminary report from federal investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the aircraft was just 15 feet above the New Jersey Turnpike at the moment it struck the pole, far lower than it should have been on its approach to the runway.
The consequences spilled onto the busy highway below. When the jet hit the light pole, the pole in turn struck a delivery truck traveling on the turnpike, causing minor injuries to the driver. Investigators were careful to note, however, that there is no evidence the plane itself hit the truck, with the damage on the road traced to the falling pole rather than to the aircraft.
Despite the alarming margin, the outcome aboard the plane was far less serious. According to the report, no one on the flight was injured in the incident. The episode nonetheless raised immediate questions about how a passenger jet ended up flying so low over a major roadway in the moments before it was due to touch down at one of the country's busiest airports.
The flight had arrived from Italy, and the report points to a complicated final stretch before landing. In the minutes leading up to the incident, investigators say, the pilots were given several runway changes, the kind of late adjustments that can add pressure to an already demanding approach into the crowded airspace around Newark Liberty.
There was also a warning from inside the cockpit itself. On final approach, the report says, the first officer told the captain that the aircraft was coming in too low. It was in those moments that the jet descended to within 15 feet of the turnpike and clipped the light pole on the edge of the airport, sending debris onto the highway below.
For now, the document is only a preliminary account, and the NTSB has not assigned a cause. Reports of this kind typically lay out the basic sequence of events while a fuller investigation continues, leaving open questions about how the runway changes, the approach and the crew's actions combined to bring the jet so dangerously close to the ground.