Pedestrian dies after being hit by US plane on runway

A Frontier Airlines plane struck and killed a pedestrian on the runway of Denver International Airport during takeoff, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to abandon the plane, airport officials said.

The airport’s official X account said the flight from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport “was reported to have struck a pedestrian during takeoff from DEN on Friday at approximately 11:19 p.m.”

The airport spokesman said that the pedestrian who jumped over the surrounding fence died.

They said the unidentified man was shot two minutes after entering the airport.

The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We’re standing on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower, according to ATC.com.

“We just hit someone. There was a fire in the engine.”

The pilot told the air traffic controller that there were “231 people” on board and that “the individual was walking along the runway.”

The air traffic controller said they were “rolling the trucks” before the pilot told the tower “there’s smoke on the plane. We’re going to evacuate from the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement that the plane involved in the collision was Flight 4345 and that “smoke was billowing from the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.”

It is not yet known whether the smoke is related to the pedestrian crash.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said.

“We are investigating this incident and gathering further information in coordination with the airport and other security authorities.”

The passengers were then separated by slides and the emergency team transported them to the terminal by bus.

An airport spokesman said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

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