DENVER (AP) 鈥� A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.
The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, 鈥渞eported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,鈥� according to a post on the airport’s official X account.
A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.
鈥淲e’re stopping on the runway,鈥� the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. 鈥淲e just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.鈥�
The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have 鈥�231 souls鈥� on board and that an 鈥渋ndividual was walking across the runway.鈥�
The air traffic controller responds that they are 鈥渞olling the trucks now鈥� before the pilot tells the tower they 鈥渉ave smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.鈥�
Frontier Airlines said in a statement that flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that 鈥渟moke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.鈥� It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.
The airline said the plane was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.
Passengers were evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.
鈥淲e are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,鈥� the airline said.
Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.
The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident or the name of the employee.
鈥淲e are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,鈥� the airline said. 鈥淲e are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.鈥�
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
