A person was struck and killed on a Denver International Airport runway late Friday when a departing Frontier Airlines aircraft aborted takeoff after a collision, airport and airline officials said. [1, 2, 3]
Frontier Airlines flight 4345 was headed from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport when the incident happened at about 11:19 p.m. local time, the airport said. The pilot told air traffic control, “We’re stopping on the runway,” then, “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.” [2]
The aircraft carried 224 passengers and 7 crew members. Frontier said passengers evacuated using emergency slides and were later taken back to the terminal. Several passengers were injured during the evacuation, including 12 with minor injuries and 5 who were taken to hospitals. [2]
The person had breached airport security before reaching the runway area, according to officials and reports. Fox News reported that officials later said the person died by suicide after breaching multiple security layers. [2, 3]
Reports said ground detection sensors near the perimeter fence set off an alarm shortly after 11 p.m., and the person crossed about 650 feet after climbing an 8-foot fence before being struck about 2 minutes later. [3, 2]
Officials on Tuesday said the intruder died by suicide after breaching security layers, while earlier accounts said the person was unidentified. Frontier’s flight 4345 was scheduled to continue from Denver to Los Angeles, but the takeoff was aborted after the collision. [3, 2]
