Federal transportation safety officials announced Sunday they are collecting information regarding an emergency evacuation at Denver International Airport following a fatal incident where a Frontier Airlines aircraft struck an individual on the runway during takeoff procedures.
Flight 4345, which was departing Denver for Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,” Denver International Airport officials posted on their social media account.
Emergency evacuation procedures were initiated using aircraft slides, with emergency personnel transporting passengers to the terminal via bus. Airport officials confirmed that 12 travelers sustained minor injuries, with five requiring hospital treatment.
Passengers voiced complaints about the evacuation process, describing being trapped inside the aircraft for several minutes while smoke entered the cabin, then being left outside in frigid temperatures after exiting. Video footage captured some travelers bringing carry-on luggage down the emergency slides.
“We are gathering information about the emergency evacuation to determine if it meets criteria for a safety investigation,” stated NTSB spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick early Sunday, noting the agency could provide additional details within hours.
Frontier Airlines had not responded to requests for comment about the evacuation by early Sunday.
The individual, whose identity remains unknown to authorities, was struck approximately two minutes after breaching airport perimeter fencing and entering the runway area. Officials do not believe the person worked at the airport.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot communicated to air traffic control according to ATC.com recordings. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot informed controllers of “231 souls” aboard the aircraft and reported that an “individual was walking across the runway.”
Air traffic control responded they were “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot announced “smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
In an official statement, Frontier Airlines confirmed flight 4345’s involvement in the collision, noting that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” The connection between the smoke and the collision remains unclear.
The carrier reported 224 passengers and seven crew members were aboard the aircraft.
“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” the airline stated.
Travelers described widespread panic after an engine ignited and smoke began filling the passenger compartment.
“Honestly, I thought I was going to die,” passenger Mohamed Hassan told Colorado’s 9NEWS.
“A lot of people next to me were screaming and crying. I just closed my eyes,” he said. “At that time, you’re not really thinking of anything, you know? Because we were just about to take off and I heard that boom, so I wasn’t sure what happened. I just thought something really, really bad happened.”
Passenger Nikil Thalanki described feeling “this jerk” during takeoff, saying it seemed the aircraft had become airborne before touching down again.
“There was fire on the engine. There was lots of sparks that are happening. Immediately came to a stop,” Thalanki said. “As soon as we saw the sparks on the flight, smoke filled the cabin completely. It was super hard to breathe.”
Kimberly Randle described passenger desperation to exit the aircraft.
“In a few minutes, they finally opened the door. People were running to get out of the plane,” he said. “It was chaos everywhere.”
This incident occurred one day following the workplace death of a Delta Air Lines employee at Orlando International Airport. The airline confirmed the employee’s death Thursday evening without releasing incident details or the worker’s identity.
“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” Delta stated. “We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”
