Person fatally struck by Frontier jet at Denver International after fence breach - NBC News

- Add NBC News to Google

A Frontier Airlines jet preparing to depart Denver International Airport for Los Angeles struck and killed a pedestrian on the runway Friday night, triggering an engine fire and a chaotic scene later captured in disturbing videos circulating online.

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

Denver International Airport confirmed that Frontier Flight 4345, bound for Los Angeles International Airport, reported striking a pedestrian at approximately 11:19 p.m. local time (1:19 a.m. ET Saturday), after which an engine fire broke out and was subsequently extinguished.

According to airport officials, the pedestrian had breached a perimeter fence roughly two minutes before the incident and was pronounced dead at the scene. The individual has not been publicly identified and is not believed to have been an airport employee.

On Sunday, airport CEO Phil Washington sought to reassure the public, saying, “Safety is paramount in everything we do in aviation and at DEN,” adding that investigators continue to gather information.

“We know there are questions to be answered still,” he added.

Video posted to social media by a passenger appears to capture the moment of impact during takeoff. A loud crashing sound can be heard, followed by screams from passengers inside the plane.

Nikil Thalanki, a passenger on the plane, told NBC affiliate KUSA that the fire broke out shortly after the plane’s wheels momentarily lifted off the ground before landing.

“Smoke filled the cabin completely — it was super hard to breathe,” he said. “And then we were sitting there, what they told us to wait there, just remain seated for like two, three minutes, maybe four minutes, and then they opened up the exits.”

Fellow passenger Franco Valera told KUSA that he heard a loud noise and then looked out the plane’s window and saw the engine on fire.

“I’m just trying to relax as everyone’s screaming, and people are getting up,” he said. “And it was a little scary.”

It is not clear if the engine fire was related to the collision.

Mohamed Hassan, a passenger on the flight, described the chaotic scene on the plane to KUSA.

“Honestly, it was the scariest experience of my life,” he said. “I was on the flight and I looked to my right and I just saw a fire, I heard a loud boom, people started screaming.”

“I thought I was going to die,” he added.

Hassan said that passengers were stuck on the plane for about three minutes before being evacuated, during which he inhaled “a lot of toxic fumes.” He said that passengers were screaming and “emotions were really high at that time.”

Another passenger, Kimberly Randel, said when the emergency doors opened, people were running to get off the plane.

“They made us leave our stuff, our bags, and we jumped,” he told KUSA. “It was horrific moment, a terrifying moment in my life.”

Karen Moon, who was also on the flight, added she was just happy she was able to disembark safely.

“Nothing happened to us other than a minor inconvenience,” she said. “We’re alive, and that’s the good thing, right?”

The plane, a narrow-body Airbus A321, was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members, who were evacuated via slides after smoke filled the cabin, the airline said.

“The aircraft reportedly struck a pedestrian on the runway during takeoff. Smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff,” the airline said. “We are deeply saddened by this event.”

The Denver airport said that 12 people reported minor injuries, including five who were transported to local hospitals.

“We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved,” the airport said in a statement.

As they got off the plane using emergency slides, another passenger recorded dimly-lit videos appearing to show damaged engine blades.

Emergency crews responded to the scene and bused passengers to the terminal, the airport said.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it is investigating the incident.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the incident in a post on X on Saturday, writing that “a trespasser breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway.”

“No one should EVER trespass on an airport,” he wrote.