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United Flight 169 was arriving from Venice, Italy, carrying more than 200 passengers and 10 crew members, striking a vehicle on the highway and some structures.

"How low is too low? And more importantly—was it legal?"

That’s the question on everyone’s mind following this incident. There’s no denying the visceral fear of seeing a massive aircraft looming directly over your car. Having driven Highway 95 many times with my family, I can appreciate how unsettling that sight must be.

While the investigation is ongoing, speculation is the predominant result. Some theories might hold a grain of truth, while others are purely misleading. As an airline pilot, I want to pull back the curtain on how we navigate congested airspace like Newark, JFK, and Philadelphia—places where approaches bring us incredibly close to buildings, highways, and shipping channels.

Here is a look at the procedures we use to ensure we clear structures safely and the strict protocols we follow when an approach becomes "unstable."

Key Factors in Low-Altitude Approaches

The Newark Reality: On approaches like Runway 29 at EWR, the glide path is naturally tight. We rely on precise instrumentation and specific "obstacle clearance altitudes" to ensure a safe margin between the landing gear and the ground.

The "Unstable Approach" Rule: If an aircraft isn't configured, on speed, or on the correct lateral path by a specific altitude (usually 1,000 feet), we don't "guess" or "fix it" on the fly. We are trained to execute an immediate Go-Around. We apply full power, climb away from the ground, and we try again.

On clear days like the one in this incident, aircraft are typically cleared for a visual approach. This shifts the primary responsibility for navigation and terrain clearance from Air Traffic Control to the pilot. However, "visual" doesn't mean "unregulated." To ensure safety, we rely on a layered system of guidance:

Instrument Backup: Even during a visual approach, we often use an underlying instrument procedure (like an ILS) as a reference. This provides an electronic glide path—typically set at 3 Degrees—that ensures a safe, stabilized descent all the way to spaced markings on the runway.

Visual Glide Slope Indicators (VGSI): On the ground, systems like PAPI or VASI lights provide color-coded cues (red and white) to tell us if we are too high or too low relative to the clear path.

Standardized Design: These procedures and lighting systems are universal, designed to be "pilot-friendly" and compatible with every type of aircraft, from small Cessnas to heavy commercial jets.

Vertical Separation: We use a combination of Radio Altimeters and Barometric Altimeters to monitor our exact height above the terrain in real-time.

Why We Wait for the Facts

Early theories often miss the technical nuances of cockpit communication or mechanical failures. While it's tempting to judge based on a cell phone video, the flight data recorder (FDR) will eventually tell the true story of the aircraft's energy state and the crew's inputs.