Kamal Ghorui
WASHINGTON/DENVER: A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the Denver International Airport runway during takeoff, airport authorities said, spa-rking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.“DEN can confirm that the pedestrian jumped the perimeter fence and was hit just two minutes later while crossing the runway,” the statement said, adding, “The pedestrian is deceased, and is not believed to be an employee of the airport nor have they been identified.” The person “was at least partially consumed by one of the engines”, ABC News reported citing an official.The Airbus A321, bound for Los Angeles, was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members, according to Frontier.“We’re stopping on the runway, we just hit somebody, we have an engine fire… There was an individual walking across the runway,” the pilot of Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 told air traffic controllers at 11.19pm on Friday, according to audio from ATC.com.The air traffic controller responded that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”The plane was quickly evacuated and 12 passengers on the flight reported minor injuries. Five were transported to local hospitals, the airport said. The Denver fire department said a brief engine fire was extinguished.Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said local law enforcement was investigating the incident. “No one should EVER trespass on an airport,” he wrote on X.The airport authority said it had examined the fence line and found it to be intact. National Transportation Safety Board has been notified of the matter and the runway involved, 17L, will remain closed during the investigation.
