Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy took to Fox News Monday to boast about reliability of U.S. aviation under his watch, claiming the United States to have the “safest skies in the world” – a poorly timed remark that coincided with a split screen showing video of a plane that struck a pole in New Jersey on Sunday.
“We have the safest skies in the world here in the United States,” Duffy claimed, appearing on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
As Duffy made his remarks, the network aired footage of United Airlines Flight 169, which on Sunday, struck a light pole and a bakery truck traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike in its descent at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. All passengers aboard the plane were unharmed, though the truck driver was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
New Jersey state police said that the tire from the plane's landing gear had “collided” with the truck and light pole, according to local CBS-affiliate WUSA9, with the Federal Aviation Administration now investigating the incident.
Aviation fatalities hit a seven-year high in 2025 under the second Trump administration, a 30% increase over the previous year, according to Forbes. The single-deadliest plane crash in decades occurred just nine days after Trump had been sworn back into office; the mid-air collision of a commercial jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., which killed 67 people.Sean Duffy claims "we have the safest skies in the world here in the US" alongside B roll of the latest near catastrophe yesterday at Newark Airport pic.twitter.com/NLWucVaLWI
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 4, 2026