DENVER — A Frontier Airlines aircraft collided with a person walking on the runway at Denver International Airport during takeoff Friday night, triggering an engine fire and emergency evacuation of all passengers and crew.
Airport officials confirmed the incident occurred at approximately 11:19 p.m. as Flight 4345 was departing for Los Angeles International Airport, according to a post on the airport’s official social media account.
Authorities have not released information about the condition of the person who was struck.
Audio recordings from air traffic control captured the pilot’s urgent communication with the tower: “We’re stopping on the runway. We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot informed controllers there were “231 souls” aboard the aircraft and reported that an “individual was walking across the runway.”
Controllers immediately responded they were “rolling the trucks now,” referring to emergency vehicles, before the pilot updated the tower: “We have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
In an official statement, Frontier Airlines confirmed Flight 4345 was involved in the collision and that pilots “aborted takeoff” after “smoke was reported in the cabin.” The airline did not specify whether the smoke was directly related to striking the pedestrian.
The company stated the Airbus A321 was transporting “224 passengers and seven crew members” and that they are “investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”
Emergency crews evacuated all occupants using the aircraft’s emergency slides before transporting them by bus back to the terminal.
Denver International Airport announced the National Transportation Safety Board has been contacted about the incident and that runway 17L, where the collision occurred, will stay shut down during the investigation.
