A Frontier Airlines aircraft struck a person during takeoff at Denver International Airport on Friday night, triggering an engine fire that forced all passengers and crew to evacuate down emergency slides.
Flight 4345, an Airbus A321 bound for Los Angeles, hit the individual on runway 17L at approximately 11:19pm. The plane carried 224 passengers and seven crew members. The pilot immediately reported the collision to air traffic control and declared an engine fire.
"We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire," the pilot told the control tower, according to air traffic monitoring data. The pilot also noted that smoke was visible in the cabin and that an individual had been walking across the runway during the takeoff roll.
Air traffic control responded by rolling emergency vehicles to the scene. The pilots aborted takeoff and initiated an evacuation on the runway itself. Passengers exited using emergency slides and were transported by bus to the terminal.
Frontier Airlines said in a statement that the airline is investigating the incident in coordination with Denver airport and safety authorities. The airport confirmed that the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified and that runway 17L remains closed during the investigation. Denver airport officials have not disclosed the condition of the person who was struck.
The incident comes amid a week of runway hazards at major U.S. airports. On Thursday, a Delta employee died at Orlando International Airport when a vehicle struck a jet bridge adjacent to an aircraft carrying passengers. Earlier in May, a United Airlines plane arriving in Newark from Venice clipped a delivery truck and light pole, which then struck a nearby vehicle. That delivery truck driver was injured, and the NTSB classified the incident as an accident.
Author James Rodriguez: "Three ground incidents at major airports in one week signals a serious breach in safety protocols that needs immediate review and correction."
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