Terrifying video shows the moment a Frontier Airlines plane collides with a person on a Denver runway
A person who allegedly violated security at Denver International Airport was killed by a Frontier Airlines plane during takeoff late Friday last week, sparking an engine fire and a chaotic emergency evacuation that left several passengers injured.The Frontier flight, bound from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, reported colliding with a pedestrian during takeoff around 11:19 p.m. local time on Friday, the airport reported in a post on X.
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The horrific video of the incident has since gone viral.
Airport officials said the unidentified person jumped the perimeter fence and entered the runway area just minutes before the collision.According to the Associated Press news agency, authorities said that the person was beaten approximately two minutes after entering the airport grounds, and it is not believed that he was an airport employee.
The pilot reported an engine fire after the collision
Audio from ATC.com captured the pilot reporting to air traffic control moments after the collision.“We will stop on the runway,” the pilot said. “We just hit someone. The engine’s on fire.”The pilot later told controllers that the plane had “231 people” on board and that “an individual was walking across the runway.”Air traffic control responded that emergency crews had been dispatched.The pilot then reported smoke inside the aircraft and informed the tower that passengers would be evacuated on the runway.
Frontier Airlines said Flight 4345 was involved in the incident and confirmed that takeoff was canceled after smoke was detected in the cabin. The airline said the plane was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” Frontier said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
Passengers describe panic inside the smoke-filled cabin
The passengers evacuated the plane using emergency slides before being returned to the station by buses.
Airport officials said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five people were taken to hospitals.Several passengers told local media that panic spread quickly after the plane suddenly stopped and smoke began filling the cabin.“Honestly, I thought I was going to die,” passenger Mohamed Hassan told 9NEWS in Colorado.“A lot of people next to me were screaming and crying. I just closed my eyes,” he said. “At the time, you weren’t really thinking about anything, you know? Because we were about to take off and you heard the explosion.”Another passenger, Nikhil Talanki, said he felt a violent jolt when the plane appeared ready to take off.“There was a fire in the engine. There were a lot of sparks. It stopped immediately,” he told local media, according to the Associated Press.“The smoke filled the entire cabin. It was very difficult to breathe.”Kimberly Randle also described chaotic scenes during the evacuation.“Within a few minutes, they finally opened the door. People were running out of the plane,” Randle said.
“It was chaos everywhere.”
NTSB reviews evacuation response
The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday it was gathering information to determine whether the evacuation required a formal safety investigation.NTSB spokeswoman Sarah Taylor Sulik said the agency is reviewing details surrounding emergency response, including passenger evacuation procedures.Videos from the scene showed some passengers leaving the plane with carry-on luggage, a problem the NTSB has repeatedly pointed out in previous evacuation investigations.The Denver Police Department said the investigation into the death on the runway is ongoing, while the identity of the deceased person will be released by the Denver Medical Examiner’s Office.Phil Washington, CEO of Denver International Airport, called the accident “a horrific and preventable tragedy.”“As this is an active investigation with multiple other agencies involved, it will take some time as we are still confirming what information we can share at this time,” Washington said in a statement.“This was a horrific and preventable tragedy that affected so many due to the actions of one person who appears to have trespassed at the airport and lost his life as a result.”