Baltimore truck driver shaken after getting hit by United jet on New Jersey Turnpike, father says

The father of a Baltimore truck driver says his son was rattled, but is grateful to be alive, after he was hit by a United jet on the New Jersey Turnpike on Sunday afternoon.

Dashcam video obtained by CBS News Baltimore showed Warren Boardley Jr. driving a bakery truck when he was hit by a low-flying Flight UA169, a Boeing 767, while attempting to land at Newark Liberty International Airport.

CBS News Baltimore spoke exclusively with the driver's father, Warren Boardley Sr., who is big in Baltimore's boxing community and a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame. 

"Right now, we are blessed to have him. He's alive," Boardley Sr. said. "The mental things he's going through, and the physical stuff, all of that should pass, the physical at least. The mental will stay with you a long time."

One of the plane's landing gear tires went through the truck's window and windshield. Boardley Jr. was treated at a hospital for injuries caused by glass in his arm and hand.

Boardley Sr. said this is his son's typical route that he's driven five days per week for seven years. He says his son called him after the accident to tell him what happened in "total shock."

"He couldn't believe it. He called me and told me that a plane had hit him. I couldn't believe it," Boardley Sr. said.

Boardley Sr. said his son had pain all over his body, including his head and internal injuries.  

"Out of all the things in the world, a plane?" Boardley Sr. said. "You can't prepare for that. You can prepare for another driver doing something, but a plane? That's unbelievable." 

Boardley Sr. said his son is at home recovering and won't be driving a truck again.

"Nobody ever expects an airplane to drop out of the sky and hit a truck, especially with my child in it," Boardley Sr. said.

Boardley Jr.'s attorney says he is reviewing all of the evidence and is still waiting to gather all of the facts. He says going to court is not off the table.

Investigation into the jet crash into a Baltimore truck

Officials said Flight UA169, a Boeing 767 that originated from Venice, Italy, was carrying 221 passengers and 10 crew members when it hit a truck from Baltimore-based H&S Bakery and a light pole while attempting to land.

Chuck Paterakis, senior vice president of transportation and logistics and co-principal at the bakery, told CBS News Baltimore that the driver was traveling to a Schmidt bakery depot in Newark and was about to exit the highway when the truck was hit.

A preliminary investigation by the New Jersey State Police indicated that a tire from the plane's landing gear and "the underside of the plane" hit both the pole and the bakery truck.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is looking into the incident, which it called an "accident."

"The investigation will examine multiple factors, including flight operations, meteorological conditions, human performance, crew resource management, aircraft performance, and air traffic control," the NTSB said in a statement Monday.

United Airlines said in a statement Sunday that the aircraft hit a light pole.

"The aircraft landed safely, taxied to the gate normally and no passengers or crew were injured. Our maintenance team is evaluating damage to the aircraft. We will conduct a rigorous flight safety investigation into the incident and our crew has been removed from service as part of the process," United said.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he hopes the NTSB gets Congress the facts in this case quickly.

"Nobody wants to be on an airplane that ends up clipping telephone wires or whatever happened, in this case, a truck," Van Hollen said. 

Pilot expert breaks down landing of United jet

A video obtained of the cockpit on final approach to Runway 29 at Newark Liberty International Airport shows how close the landing was to turnpike. 

A pilot expert told CBS News Baltimore that below 500 feet, pilots have to land the aircraft on Runway 29 visually.

"That descent has to be very, very precise when it technically is a non-precision approach, when you when you have to do that visually," said Joshua Schirard, a commercial pilot.

Schirard added that, "I think we're talking a matter of inches here to where this could have been a lot worse."