The aircraft sustained minor damage and the three-member crew was not injured.
Investigators are focusing on the actions of a three-member crew of a local train the night before the accident.
The three-member resident crew at the station is testing the new operating procedures for installing the truss.
According to Conoco officials, the three-member crew guiding the plane did not report any trouble.
The program was limited to three three-member crews, which spent a combined six months on it.
But he also said the space station could not support a three-member crew after June unless Russia sent up more resupply vehicles.
At the same time, other aircraft that employ two-member instead of three-member crews, such as the Boeing 757 and 767, are becoming more widespread.
A flag carrier pilot, who is part of a three-member crew on an international flight, cannot fly more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period.
The primary limiting factor, he said, was the amount of water that a three-member crew requires.
Already, much of the time available to the station's three-member crews is spent in running, expanding or maintaining its systems or orbit.