A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a person walking on a runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.
The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,” the airport’s official X account wrote.
A spokesperson for the airport said the victim, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.
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“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that and “individual was walking across the runway.”
The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the person on the runway.
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“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”
Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.
Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.
Unless the alleged person was 7 or more feet tall kind of hard to be ingested by Airbus 320 engine that sits way above runway. The picture of the stick figure shows engine fire before the alleged victim is ingested. Hmmmm?
Howard, not everything is politically motivated. Trump sure lives in your head. Tell me you’re a liberal without telling me. Darwin awards!
I have noticed that Indians like walking down the middle of pavement. Especially late at night. Could it be…….? Hope not.
Probably a Democrat or Liberal trying to protest fossil fuel use.
Honestly, victim, that’s amusing. Guess they shouldn’t have jumped the fence, put in higher fences.
Wondering why the ‘victim’ didn’t hear a plane coming, didn’t bother to ‘look both ways’ first?? I’m thinking the 12 people that got injured in the plane?? should be the victims?
” the victim, who jumped a perimeter fence,”
Another ‘Darwin Award’ candidate.
Hoping it’s Trump
Was that person ingested by the engine? For the sake of the first responders, I hope not.
They will probably try to scapegoat the pilots.
That’s a hell of a way to commit suicide.