Harrowing moment United flight hits light pole and truck while landing at Newark Airport

Shocking new video has shown the moment a United Airlines plane struck a light pole and a trailer during its final approach to Newark Liberty International Airport.

The underbody and tire of United Airlines Flight 169 struck a light pole and a tractor carrying goods from a bakery on the New Jersey Turnpike on Sunday around 2 p.m., a New Jersey State Police spokesman said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Boeing 767-400 landed safely, arriving from Venice, Italy.

There were 221 passengers and 10 crew members on board the flight.

New video of the ordeal showed the passenger plane coming within inches of total disaster as it clipped the objects during its final descent.

Cars and other traffic could be seen traveling at high speeds on the highway below the United plane as it got too close to the ground.

The nail-biting clip showed that the landing took place on a relatively clear day with good visibility.

“Our maintenance team is assessing damage to the aircraft,” a United spokesperson said. “We will be conducting a rigorous flight safety investigation into the incident and our crew has been removed from service as part of the process.”

New video has shown the moment the United plane struck a light pole and a truck as it landed at Newark Airport on Sunday

In the photo: the driver of the truck that was clipped by the plane. He worked for H&S Family of Bakeries. His windshield was shattered and there was a hole in the truck’s cab

The Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey said no injuries were reported on the plane, while minor damage to the aircraft was observed.

Airport staff inspected the runway for debris and normal operations quickly resumed, a spokesman said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and has since been released, the Port Authority said.

He drove a truck for H&S Family of Bakeries. His windshield was shattered and there was a hole in the truck’s cab.

After being hit by the plane, the pole also hit a Jeep traveling on the Parkway.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the incident.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said: “This is unacceptable. We have really well trained pilots. This should never happen in America, but this is what happens: from an incident like this, the large and small incidents, we look at an investigation and learn from it.’

NTSB said it has ordered United Airlines to secure and deliver both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder in support of the investigation.

U.S. airlines and airports have suffered a distressing number of close calls and near misses in recent years.

New video of the ordeal showed the passenger plane coming within inches of total disaster as it clipped objects during its final descent

In April, a UPS cargo plane had to abort its landing in Louisville when a small plane crossed the runway on approach.

The air traffic controller shouted ‘Skylab 25, stop!’ at the small plane before quickly ordering the UPS plane to pull away and perform a maneuver, called a go-around, to prevent another tragedy at Louisville International Airport, a major hub for UPS.

The Boeing 767, identified as UPS Flight 1303, was arriving from Atlanta when it was ordered to cancel the landing.

And earlier this year, an American Airlines pilot was forced to “put on the brakes” after a truck collided just feet away from him on the taxiway at a North Carolina airport.

The unidentified pilot was maneuvering his plane toward the runway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport when he suddenly had to stop the plane.

Two vehicles drove past the aircraft, apparently unaware that Flight 1197 had its taxi lights on.

“They just went right in front of us,” the male pilot told the air traffic controller, according to CBS News. “We almost hit them, I had to hit the brakes.”

He informed the air traffic controller that they were already moving before the car passed by.

In March of this year, an Air Canada Express plane collided with a Port Authority fire truck on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing the pilot and co-pilot.

The airport was closed and dozens of passengers were injured.

Last January, a catastrophic mid-air collision occurred in DC over the Potomac River between an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter.

The two planes collided as the plane was about to land. All 67 people on board both planes died in the crash.