United 767 Into Newark Was Too Low And Too Slow According To NTSB Preliminary Report

On May 3, 2026, United Airlines operating flight 169 with a Boeing 767-400ER flying from Venice (VCE) to Newark (EWR), struck a 15-foot lamp pole near the airport boundary, resulting in substantial damage to the aircraft.

At first it was speculated that the aircraft’s tires may have hit a passing semi truck passing southbound on the New Jersey Turnpike. It was later discovered that flying debris from the light pole hit the truck, damaging the vehicle’s windscreen, with the driver sustaining minor injuries.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has since released their preliminary report, showing that the aircraft well below the typical three-degree glide path about 0.75 nautical miles from the displaced threshold. They also noted that the aircraft was just 19 feet above ground level when it passed over the Turnpike near the row of lamp posts. The highway is about 5 feet above the runway.

There were three pilots on board. The captain (pilot flying) had 2,724 hours on the Boeing 757 and 767 (16,385 hours in total at United), the first officer in the role of pilot monitoring had 1,958 hours on the 757/767 (same total at United), while the relief officer had 853 hours on the 757/767 (1,075 hours in total at United).

During descent, the pilots were given three runway changes, originally planning for 4R, then 22L and finally 29. They were eventually cleared for the RNAV W RWY 29 approach, with the captain saying he gave a compressed briefing for each approach after each runway change, noting that the required items were covered for each.

According to the charts, pilots have to fly visually from 2.6 nautical miles from the threshold.

“The captain stated they had no CRM [crew resource management] issues on the flight. The captain was not concerned about the approach. He stated that he expected to fly the final portion of the approach at 3 red and 1 white on the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI). This was his desired sight picture for runway 29. The CVR did not capture any discussion of PAPI lights for runway 29 prior to landing.”

“The captain stated that he turned off the autopilot and the auto-throttles at approximately 880 ft MSL or just around AXELL. He said that he “got fast” while he turned the airplane into the headwind and pulled the power levers back to compensate. The airplane shortly returned to a stable airspeed even though the wind gusts were producing “moderate turbulence.”

“The captain stated he heard the first officer call out “airspeed slow” while on short final (inside 1/2 mile). He mentioned that he did not receive any windshear alerts and that he always felt that the airplane was in a safe position to land. He responded to the automated 500 ft callout with the statement “stable”.

“At 500 ft, the first officer stated, they were on speed and on profile, and the captain was maintaining his planned profile of 3 red and 1 white on the PAPI. Once again, the CVR did not capture any discussion of PAPI lights for runway 29 prior to landing. Additionally, the captain, as the PF, was looking outside the airplane, and the first officer as the PM was “more committed to being inside the airplane, looking for trends.”

“As they descended, the airspeed began to decay, and the first officer recalled that he stated, “hey you are slow,” followed moments later by, “you are still slow and a little low.” The PM then looked back outside, and at that point recalled “I thought we were low”, however they were just about to touch down, and he didn’t process the information in time to get a go-around callout verbalized. The airplane landed, taxied to the gate, and all passengers and crew deplaned normally.

“The captain stated that just before touchdown “he heard a thump”. The first officer recalled feeling a mild jolt as they neared the threshold. The relief officer stated that he heard an audible thump as they went over the airport boundary a second or two before landing. After the flight landed, the purser called the flight deck and said the aft flight attendants heard a loud bang just prior to landing.

“After parking at the gate, the captain went outside to assess the airplane and found damage along the aft fuselage.

According to the Meteorological Aerodrome Report (METAR) at the time of the incident, the wind was at 290 degrees at 19 knots, gusting to 30 knots, visibility was 10 statute miles, and the altimeter was 29.88 inches of mercury.

When the aircraft (registered N77066) was properly inspected, they found substantial damage, with three punctures on the lower-left aft fuselage, and additional dents and creases in the aft fuselage skin. There were also slash marks on a left main landing gear tire. Debris from the lamp post struck the semi truck’s windscreen, and the upper front-left area of the trailer.

While the purpose of this initial report is not to lay blame on anyone, it’s clear that the aircraft was well below the recommended approach parameters, with low airspeed also contributing to it striking the lamp pole. A go-around would have been a good call, but the captain believed he was on profile, while the first officer said he was not able to process the information in time to call for it given how close they were from touch down.

More data is still being gathered in the meantime, with a final report expected within 12 to 24 months.

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