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Frontier Flight Strikes Trespasser During Denver Takeoff, Killing Person

The crash highlights urgent questions over airport perimeter security.

Overview

  • Frontier Flight 4345, which reported the impact at 11:19 p.m. Friday, aborted takeoff and evacuated 231 people on the runway.
  • Airport officials said the person scaled a perimeter fence and was hit about two minutes later on Runway 17L, and that the individual was not an airport employee.
  • Fire crews put out a brief engine fire as 12 passengers reported minor injuries, with five taken to hospitals after the slide evacuation.
  • Cockpit audio recorded the pilot telling the tower, “We just hit somebody… we have an engine fire,” before ordering an on-runway evacuation, and ABC News, citing sources, reported the victim was partially pulled into an engine.
  • Runway 17L was closed for investigators, the NTSB was notified, and Denver police with the FAA and TSA opened a probe as the airport said the fence line appeared intact.