Copilot of United Airlines jet that hit light pole at Newark Airport realized too late plane was low: report

The copilot of a United Airlines passenger jet that struck a light pole as it landed at a New Jersey airport last month recognized the plane was coming in low, but told investigators he didn’t realize it in time to call for an aborted landing, according to a new report Thursday.Crewmembers on the May 3 flight from Venice, Italy, also recalled hearing a loud “thump” and feeling a “mild jolt” just before touchdown at Newark Liberty International Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board stated in its initial report.The first officer recalled saying “you are still slow and a little low” as the plane descended, according to the report.He then recalled looking back outside and thinking the plane was low, but just about to touch down.The report provides the first description of the events from the crew inside the plane, but it doesn’t identify a specific reason why the plane came in so low, or make recommendations about how to prevent similar incidents.

That’s not expected until the NTSB releases its final report, likely sometime next year.But the report clarifies for the first time that it was debris from the light pole, and not the plane itself, that hit a truck traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike.Law enforcement officials initially said the plane had hit the top of a bakery truck, causing minor injuries to the driver.The report says the truck’s windshield was damaged and its trailer punctured, but that there was no evidence of tire marks on either the tractor cab or trailer.The Boeing 767 was able to land safely, though it sustained “substantial” damage to its fuselage and one of its landing tires had evidence of slash marks, according to the NTSB report.

None of the more than 200 people aboard the plane were hurt.Regular drivers on that stretch of Interstate 95 near the Newark airport are likely used to seeing planes coming in low as they cross the highway in preparation for landing.Dashboard camera video from inside the truck sh...