A LATE-night take-off at Denver International Airport descended into chaos after a Frontier Airlines aircraft struck and killed a person who had reportedly breached airport security and entered the runway, forcing pilots to abort departure and evacuate passengers amid reports of smoke and an engine fire.
The incident occurred shortly after 11pm on Friday as Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 was preparing to depart for Los Angeles International Airport with 224 passengers and seven crew members on board.
AP cited airport authorities saying the unidentified individual had climbed over a perimeter fence and entered the restricted airfield area moments before the collision.
According to officials, the person was struck approximately two minutes after entering airport grounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said the individual is not believed to have been an airport employee.
Audio recordings from air traffic control communications captured the dramatic moments immediately after the collision, with the pilot informing controllers that the aircraft had struck a person during take-off.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot told the control tower. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot later confirmed there were “231 souls” on board and reported that “an individual was walking across the runway”.
Air traffic control personnel responded by dispatching emergency vehicles while the flight crew prepared for an emergency evacuation.
“We have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway,” the pilot said.
Frontier Airlines later confirmed that smoke had been reported inside the cabin and that pilots had immediately aborted take-off procedures following the impact.
The airline said investigations were underway in coordination with airport authorities and federal safety agencies.
“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” the airline said in a statement.
Passengers were evacuated using emergency slides before being transported by bus back to the terminal building.
Airport officials said 12 passengers sustained minor injuries during the evacuation process, while five people were taken to hospital for further treatment.
Passenger Jacob Athens, who shared videos and photographs from the scene on social media, described panic and confusion inside the aircraft after what he believed was an engine explosion.
“As we were lifting off the engine of the plane exploded. There was so much smoke we couldn’t even see 1 ft in front of us,” he wrote online.
He also claimed passengers remained on the runway for more than an hour before transportation assistance arrived.
Images shared online appeared to show damage to one of the aircraft’s engines, although investigators have not yet confirmed the extent of the damage or whether the smoke originated from the collision itself.
The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the incident, while runway 17L at Denver International Airport was temporarily closed before reopening on Saturday morning.
United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the individual had deliberately breached airport security before entering the active runway.
“The person breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway,” he wrote on X.
“No one should EVER trespass on an airport.”
The incident came just one day after a separate fatal workplace accident involving a Delta Air Lines employee at Orlando International Airport, further intensifying scrutiny over airport operational safety and security procedures in the United States aviation sector. - May 10, 2026
