A Frontier Airlines jet preparing to depart Denver International Airport for Los Angeles struck and killed a pedestrian on the runway Friday night, triggering an engine fire and a chaotic scene later captured in disturbing videos circulating online.
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Denver International Airport confirmed that Frontier Flight 4345, bound for Los Angeles International Airport, reported striking a pedestrian at approximately 11:19 p.m. local time (1:19 a.m. ET Saturday), after which an engine fire broke out and was subsequently extinguished.
According to airport officials, the pedestrian had breached a perimeter fence roughly two minutes before the incident and was pronounced dead at the scene. The individual has not been publicly identified and is not believed to have been an airport employee.
It is not clear if the engine fire was related to the collision.
The plane, a narrow-body Airbus A321, was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members, who were evacuated via slides after smoke filled the cabin, the airline said.
“The aircraft reportedly struck a pedestrian on the runway during takeoff. Smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff,” the airline said. “We are deeply saddened by this event.”
The Denver airport said that 12 people reported minor injuries, including five who were transported to local hospitals.
“We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved,” the airport said in a statement.
Footage posted to social media by a passenger appears to capture the moment of impact during takeoff. A loud crashing sound can be heard, followed by screams from passengers inside the plane.
Mohamed Hassan, a passenger on the flight, described the chaotic scene on the plane to NBC affiliate KUSA.
“Honestly it was the scariest experience of my life,” he said. “I was on the flight and I looked to my right and I just saw a fire, I heard a loud boom, people started screaming.”
“I thought I was going to die,” he added.
Hassan said that passengers were stuck on the plane for about three minutes before being evacuated, during which he inhaled “a lot of toxic fumes.” He said that passengers were screaming and “emotions were really high at that time.”
As they got off the plane using emergency slides, another passenger recorded dimly-lit videos appearing to show damaged engine blades.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and bused passengers to the terminal, the airport said.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it is investigating the incident.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the incident in a post on X on Saturday, writing that “a trespasser breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway.”
“No one should EVER trespass on an airport,” he wrote.
In its statement, the airport said it had shut Runway 17L and that the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified.
We commend the quick and professional actions of the pilots and the firefighter first responders who ensured the fire did not spread as everyone onboard was ushered to safety.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said in a statement that it commended “the quick and professional actions of the pilots and the firefighter first responders who ensured the fire did not spread as everyone onboard was ushered to safety.”
Hassan said he was too shaken up from the incident on Friday and declined to take the flight Frontier offered him for free to Los Angeles on Saturday morning.
“I’ve never experienced something like that,” he told KUSA.