A Frontier Airlines plane struck and killed a pedestrian on a runway at Denver International Airport late Friday night, forcing the aircraft to abort takeoff and evacuate all 224 passengers and 7 crew members.
The incident, involving Flight 4345 bound for Los Angeles, occurred around 11:19 p.m. local time as the Airbus A321 accelerated to 146 miles per hour.
The pedestrian, who has not been identified, breached the airport’s perimeter fence and was crossing Runway 17L when the collision happened just two minutes later. Denver International Airport confirmed the individual was not an airport employee and was pronounced deceased at the scene. The airport’s fenceline was later inspected and found to be intact, raising questions about how the breach occurred.
As the plane struck the pedestrian, passengers reported a loud thud followed by smoke filling the cabin and a brief engine fire on the right wing. “I looked to my right, and I just see the right wing on fire and like, it’s exploding,” passenger Jose Cervantes recounted to a local news outfit. “I thought I was going to burn to death.”
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Pilots immediately aborted takeoff, swiveling the aircraft side to side before coming to a stop. Air traffic control audio captured the urgency, with the pilot reporting, “We just hit somebody,” and noting smoke in the aircraft. Emergency crews extinguished the fire swiftly, and passengers were evacuated via slides as a precaution before being bused back to the terminal.
Twelve individuals reported minor injuries, with five transported to local hospitals for treatment. Most passengers were later rebooked on a new Frontier flight out of Denver.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are leading the probe into the incident. Runway 17L remains closed for the investigation but is expected to reopen on Saturday.
This collision follows other recent aviation safety incidents, including a Delta employee fatality at Orlando International Airport on Thursday and a United Airlines plane damaging a delivery truck and light pole in Newark on May 3. The string of events underscores growing concerns over ground safety at major U.S. airports.
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