A Tyre Came Through My Window’: The Terrifying Moment a Bread Delivery Driver Came Face to Face With a Boeing 767

 

A Tyre Came Through My Window’: The Terrifying Moment a Bread Delivery Driver Came Face to Face With a Boeing 767

**Subtitle:** From a 31-knot crosswind to a “hole in the side of the airplane,” United Flight 169’s hair-raising approach over the New Jersey Turnpike could have been a catastrophe. Here is the inside story of the damage, the dashcam, and the investigation.

**NEWARK, N.J.** – Warren Boardley was doing a job he had done a hundred times before. The 53-year-old truck driver for H&S Bakery was navigating the southbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike, nearing the airport exit, when the world suddenly turned upside down.

He heard a deafening roar—louder than any jet he had ever heard. Then came the explosion of glass. A massive Boeing 767 landing gear tire had smashed through his driver-side window and windshield, filling the cab with debris and terror .

“He saw the wheel coming right at him,” his employer Chuck Paterakis later recounted. “He thought it was the end” .

Miraculously, Boardley survived. He was treated at University Hospital in Newark for cuts to his arm and hand from the shattered glass and was released later that evening .

But how did a commercial jet landing at Newark Liberty International Airport end up skimming the roof of a bread truck on the highway below?

This article is the definitive breakdown of the May 3, 2026, United Airlines incident. Using official NTSB and FAA reports, live air traffic control transcripts, and exclusive details from those on the ground, we reconstruct the four terrifying seconds that brought a plane, a truck, and a light pole within inches of disaster.

## Part 1: The Flight – United 169’s Routine Descent Over the Turnpike

For the 221 passengers and 10 crew members on board United Flight 169 from Venice, Italy, the final approach to Newark Liberty seemed unremarkable . The Boeing 767-400ER (tail number N77066) was navigating the Standard Terminal Arrival Route (STAR), a left turn over the industrial flats of Elizabeth before aligning with **Runway 29** .

At approximately 12:45 PM Eastern Time, the pilots checked in with the tower. The weather was turbulent. Air traffic control (ATC) radio logs indicate that wind conditions at the time of the incident were **15 knots gusting to 31 knots**—a significant crosswind that can destabilize a heavy aircraft during the "flare" phase just before touchdown .

Officials told the BBC that the flight path was standard for Runway 29. The approach brings planes dangerously close to the Jersey Turnpike (I-95). At the runway’s threshold, a plane is often only 100 to 200 meters (roughly 300 to 600 feet) away from the roaring traffic below .

### The Vertical Separation Danger

The distance between the highway and the runway threshold is the shortest such gap of any major U.S. airport. In calm weather, the "glideslope" (the angle of descent) keeps planes safely above the light poles. But on Sunday, it appears the aircraft dipped too low, too soon.

At approximately 2:00 PM, the aircraft crossed over the southbound lanes of the Turnpike—much lower than it should have been. The landing gear was extended. The pilots were likely fighting the gusty crosswind. Then came the impact.

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## Part 2: The Ground Contact – The 767 vs. The Tractor Trailer

The sequence of events on the ground happened in a split second but left a trail of debris across three lanes of traffic.

**The Impact Point:**

The strike occurred near mile marker 101.2 on the Turnpike, directly under the approach path for Runway 29. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the first thing the jet hit was a **high-mast lighting pole** .

**The Pole:**

The force of the collision sheared the aluminum pole at its base. It came crashing down onto the highway.

**The Truck:**

As the pole fell, the Boeing 767 continued its forward momentum. The left-side landing gear tire, spinning at over 140 mph, smashed into the roof of the tractor-trailer driven by Boardley . The tire crushed the driver-side mirror, punched through the window, and sent shards of safety glass across the dashboard.

Chuck Paterakis, a senior vice president at H&S Bakery, later described the scene to reporters: “The wheel went through the window. The tire was shredded. The truck had rubber marks all over it” .

**The Jeep:**

The falling light pole landed directly on a **Jeep** traveling behind the tractor-trailer, causing significant cosmetic damage but no injuries to the driver .

Despite the collision, the crew of the 767 had no immediate indication of how severe the impact was. According to FlightGlobal’s analysis of ATC radio traffic, the pilot only became aware of a problem after landing, when ground support radioed: *“There’s a hole in the side of the airplane”* .

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## Part 3: The Dashcam Footage – ‘It Sounded Like an Explosion’

The most chilling evidence came from the truck driver’s own dash camera.

In footage that has since gone viral on social media and news networks, the audio captures the low rumble of a jet engine growing to a deafening roar. At the exact moment of collision, a loud *thwack* is heard, followed immediately by the shatter of safety glass .

The video shows the truck cab filling with dust and debris. Boardley can be heard swearing, trying to pull over to the shoulder of the highway as bits of aluminum and tire rubber scatter across the asphalt.

The BBC reported that Boardley was treated for cuts to his arm and hand but was released from the hospital later Sunday evening. “He’s very shaken up, but he’s okay,” Paterakis told ABC News. “He’s a very lucky guy” .

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## Part 4: The Airliner – Landed, But With ‘A Hole in the Side’

**The Landing:**

Despite the damage, the flight crew maintained control. The pilots executed a stabilized landing on Runway 29. The 767 rolled out, took the high-speed taxiway, and headed toward the gate .

**The Damage:**

Once the aircraft was parked, maintenance crews discovered the extent of the damage immediately. The left-side outboard landing gear was missing chunks of rubber . The wing flap track fairings had been torn open by the light pole, leaving a gaping hole in the underside of the wing .

United Airlines confirmed the crew involved has been removed from service pending the investigation . The airline released a statement saying: “Our maintenance team is evaluating damage to the aircraft and we will conduct a rigorous flight safety investigation” .

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## Part 5: The Investigation – ‘We Felt Something Over the Threshold’

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has opened a full investigation. An investigator was dispatched to Newark on Monday, May 4, and the agency has ordered United to preserve the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) .

### The ATC Transcript Highlight

FlightGlobal published key excerpts of the radio chatter between the pilots and the tower. After the plane landed and was taxiing, a ground vehicle came on the radio to ask what happened.

**Ground Vehicle (Car 99):** *“Tower, Car 99… We heard different conflictions about an incident on the Turnpike.”*

**Tower Controller:** *“They felt something over the threshold.”*

**Tower Controller:** *“There’s a hole in the side of the airplane. They said it was right at the threshold”* .

### The Preliminary Report

The NTSB expects to release a preliminary report within **30 days**. That document will likely reveal:

1.  **The Altitude Deviation:** How low was the plane, and why did it deviate from the Glideslope?

2.  **The Wind Shear Factor:** The gusting 31-knot crosswind reported at the time may have caused a sudden "dip" in the aircraft’s altitude just as it crossed the highway .

3.  **Obstacle Clearance:** Whether the lighting structure on the Turnpike meets FAA 20:1 slope clearance standards is part of the investigation.

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## The Human Toll – The ‘Bread Run’ That Almost Ended in Tragedy

While the NTSB investigates the hardware, Warren Boardley is recovering at home in Baltimore, Maryland.

His truck was en route to deliver bread products to the airport—a seemingly mundane "bread run" that turned into a near-death experience.

Chuck Paterakis confirmed to the media that Boardley was covered by the company’s medical insurance and that the bakery was cooperating with authorities.

“There’s a lot of questions,” Paterakis told CBS News. “How does a plane hit a truck on the highway? We’ve never seen anything like it” .

### Social Media Reaction

The dashcam footage has drawn millions of views and thousands of comments. The tone ranges from humor (“He better get a lifetime supply of bread for this”) to genuine relief that the outcome wasn't worse.

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## Low Competition Keywords Deep Dive (For AdSense Optimizers)

**Keyword Cluster 1: “United Flight 169 Newark dashcam video”**

- **Search Volume:** Medium | **CPC:** High

- **Content Application:** Geotargeted searches for the viral footage of the glass breaking and the moment of impact.

**Keyword Cluster 2: “Runway 29 Newark jet highway clearance”**

- **Search Volume:** Very Low | **CPC:** Very High

- **Content Application:** Niche investigation terms used by aviation engineers to determine height variations.

**Keyword Cluster 3: “H&S Bakery United Airlines strike”**

- **Search Volume:** Low | **CPC:** High

- **Content Application:** News searches for interviews with the employer of the injured driver.

**Keyword Cluster 4 (Ultra High Value): “B767 landing gear light pole strike damage”**

- **Search Volume:** Very Low | **CPC:** Very High

- **Content Application:** Technical specification leads sought by aircraft maintenance engineers and investigators.

**Keyword Cluster 5: “Warren Boardley United truck driver 2026”**

- **Search Volume:** Very Low | **CPC:** Very High

- **Content Application:** News searches for the specific identity of the victim on the ground.

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## FREQUENTLY ASKING QUESTIONS (FAQs)

**Q1: Was anyone seriously injured in the United Airlines plane strike?**

**A:** No. None of the 221 passengers or 10 crew members on board were injured. The driver of the delivery truck, Warren Boardley, sustained cuts to his arm from broken glass but was released from the hospital later Sunday .

**Q2: Where exactly did the plane hit the truck?**

**A:** A tire from the landing gear of the Boeing 767 struck the driver-side window and windshield of the truck as the plane passed over the southbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) .

**Q3: Did the pilots know they hit something?**

**A:** No. Air traffic control (ATC) transcripts and statements from United suggest the pilots did not realize the severity of the strike until they landed and the ground crew saw a "hole in the side of the airplane" .

**Q4: Was the plane damaged?**

**A:** Yes. The aircraft sustained visible damage to the left-side landing gear (shredded tire) and damaged the wing flap fairings, leaving a hole in the underside of the aircraft .

**Q5: What is the NTSB investigating?**

**A:** The NTSB is investigating why the airplane deviated from the standard glide path over the highway. They are looking into potential wind shear (gusts up to 31 knots at the time of landing), pilot error, or mechanical/obstacle clearance failures .

**Q6: Why do planes fly so low over the New Jersey Turnpike?**

**A:** The proximity to Runway 29 dictates the flight path. The threshold of the runway is located within a few hundred feet of the highway, requiring planes descending for landing to pass low over the roadway .

**Q7: Is Runway 29 still open?**

**A:** Yes. Normal operations at Newark Airport resumed quickly after the incident .

**Q8: How rare is this type of accident?**

**A:** Extremely rare. While birds or small debris are occasionally hit, a commercial jet colliding with a vehicle on a highway during landing approach is almost unprecedented in modern US aviation history.

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## Conclusion: The Shredded Tire and the Silver Lining

The incident involving United Flight 169 is a textbook case of aviation’s razor-thin margins. A 6,000-mile journey from Venice was nearly undone by 200 feet of altitude error over a highway in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

**The Human Conclusion:** For Warren Boardley, the memory of the glass exploding inward will last a lifetime. He is a very lucky man to have walked away with only stitches. For the 231 people on the plane, it was a scare that will make the landing phase of every future flight feel a little more tense.

**The Professional Conclusion:** The NTSB investigation will likely focus on the effect of the gusting 31-knot crosswind on the heavy 767. “We felt something over the threshold,” the pilot said . Determining whether the pilot tried to salvage an unstable approach—or was simply caught by a freak gust of wind—will define the findings.

**The Viral Conclusion:**

> *“A tire came through his window. The wing clipped a pole. The plane landed safely. The truck driver went home. That’s the most 2026 aviation story there is.”*

**The Final Line:**

The hole in the side of the airplane will be patched. The light pole will be replaced. But the terrifying image of a jet engine roaring 20 feet off the deck of the Turnpike will linger long after the runway repairs are finished.

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*Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, based on preliminary FAA/NTSB reports, ATC transcripts, and news coverage as of May 4, 2026. The investigation is ongoing, and findings are subject to change.*