Anyone who's flown before knows the experience of turbulence on a plane. But, we're all told that it's like shaking a soda can - everything's kept safe inside, if a little dazed.
But, this situation made turbulence feel a little too real - because a flight actually struck objects on its descent. As reported by People, a United Airlines flight had the crazy experience on Sunday, May 3. It was travelling from Venice, Italy, to Newark Liberty International Airport.
The plane was coming into its final approach when it struck a light pole, terrifying passengers. But the more serious part came with where the light pole went. It crashed down, and hit a tractor trailer travelling on a New Jersey turnpike.
But, miraculously, there were no serious injuries - on either end of the situation. United said that none of the 221 passengers or the 10 crew were injured. But, the tractor trailer driver did experience cuts in his arm. This was because his windows shattered after the light pole hit his vehicle.
He was taken to hospital, and has since been discharged, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
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United Released a Statement About the Flight Mishap
In a statement, United explained that "Our maintenance team is evaluating damage to the aircraft." They continued, "We will conduct a rigorous flight safety investigation into the incident, and our crew has been removed from service as part of the process."
They also said that airport officials immediately conducted inspections after the incident happened. While flights were slightly delayed due to the incident, Newark didn't get any big operational delays and things got back to normal quite soon.
But, the investigation into the flight is still in its preliminary stages, according to CBS News. According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, "We don't quite know yet what happened."
He continued, "We don't want to get ahead of the facts, and oftentimes the first facts are wrong, but obviously there were issues with a couple of vehicles on the roadway." He suspected that gusty winds could have been a factor, but nothing is concrete as of now.
We're glad that everyone is okay. Things could have been so much worse.
