Select Language:
A flight at Denver International Airport was forced to cancel its takeoff late on Friday after hitting a person on the runway, with at least one passenger sustaining injuries, according to the airport and U.S. media reports.
Denver International Airport issued a statement confirming that “Frontier Flight 4345 reported hitting a pedestrian during takeoff” around 11:19 p.m. local time.
An unidentified official told ABC News that the individual struck “was at least partially consumed by one of the engines.” The person’s current condition remains unknown.
The airport reported that “a brief engine fire occurred, which was quickly put out by the Denver Fire Department.”
A pilot communicated to air traffic control via audio from ATC.com, saying, “We’re stopped on the runway, we just hit somebody, we have an engine fire… A person was walking across the runway.”
Emergency responders arrived at the scene and transported the passengers to the terminal. The airport also stated on X that at least one passenger had minor injuries.
Frontier Airlines explained that the Airbus A321 was preparing for a flight to Los Angeles International Airport when the incident happened. They added, “Smoke was observed inside the cabin, leading pilots to abort the takeoff. Passengers were then safely evacuated using slides as a precaution.”
The aircraft was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members. The airline said they are investigating the event and collaborating with airport officials and safety authorities to gather more details. They expressed their regret over the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified, and runway 17L at Denver International remains closed during the investigation.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini AI
Grok AI
