Friday night, around 11:19 p.m. local time, Frontier Airlines Flight 4345, an Airbus A321 bound for Los Angeles, struck and killed a person on Runway 17L at Denver International Airport during takeoff. There were 231 people on board, 224 pa...
Friday night, around 11:19 p.m. local time, Frontier Airlines Flight 4345, an Airbus A321 bound for Los Angeles, struck and killed a person on Runway 17L at Denver International Airport during takeoff. There were 231 people on board, 224 passengers and 7 crew.
The pedestrian had jumped the perimeter fence roughly two minutes before the incident and was crossing the runway when the plane struck them.
The person was at least partially consumed by one of the engines, causing a brief engine fire.
The pilot immediately aborted takeoff and radioed: “Tower, Frontier, 4345 we’re stopping on the runway. We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.” Smoke filled the cabin and passengers were evacuated via emergency slides.
Twelve people reported minor injuries and five were transported to local hospitals.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene and has not been publicly identified. They are not believed to have been an airport employee.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the person had “deliberately” scaled the fence and called it a deliberate trespass.
The identity and motive of the person on the runway remain unknown.