The airport said 12 people on board reported minor injuries, and five of them were sent to hospital.
DENVER — A Frontier Airlines plane was evacuated after it struck and killed a pedestrian on the runway while taking off from Denver International Airport late Friday night, the airport and airline said.
Frontier flight 4345 departed Denver for Los Angeles around 11:19 Friday night. Frontier said the pilot aborted the takeoff after someone was hit and smoke billowed out of the cabin. The airport confirmed a “brief engine fire” occurred and was extinguished by Denver firefighters.
The airport said the man jumped a fence and was struck two minutes later while crossing runway 17L. They did not believe the man was an airport employee.
The airport inspected the fence line and determined it was still intact.
Frontier said the Airbus A321 aircraft was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.
Frontier said passengers were evacuated via slides. Emergency crews took them by bus to the terminal. Frontier said the flight has been rescheduled.
“We are investigating this incident and coordinating with the airport and other security authorities to gather additional information,” Frontier said in a statement. “We are deeply saddened by this incident.”
The airport said 12 people on board reported minor injuries, and five of them were sent to hospital. At least four of them have been released.
The runway was closed while the investigation was ongoing and reopened around 11am on Saturday.
“We are deeply saddened by this incident and extend our sympathies to those involved,” the airport said.
The portion of the fence closest to Runway 17L is only a few hundred feet from the runway itself. Dave Riley, a former air traffic controller who worked at DIA for 15 years, said the reported two minutes suggested the person may have entered the airport from somewhere nearby.
“They’d have to be flying in from the Northeast or the East to get to Runway Seven that fast,” Riley said. “Two minutes is faster than most people can run. So it has to be pretty close.”
The Frontier aircraft was reportedly flying at approximately 112 knots (approximately 150 mph) during takeoff. At those speeds, Riley said, pilots have little time to react once a person enters the runway.
“Everything went by at such a pace, very, very quickly,” Riley said. “So they got a glimpse and I think that’s how they confirmed to the tower controller that they hit a guy.”
Near the area where the incident occurred, the airport is surrounded by large fences, dirt roads and open spaces.
“There’s nothing there,” Riley said. “So who knows where this guy came from.”
Riley said DIA’s perimeter setup is not unusual for large airports. He noted that DIA is the largest airport in the country by land area, covering 53 square miles, which further complicates the challenge of securing the property.
“Putting a fence around an airport is a feat in itself,” Riley said.
Riley said investigators will likely review cockpit voice recorders, flight data recorders, tower audio and surveillance video to determine exactly how the person entered the runway.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident. Denver police said they are also assisting in the investigation.
