Frontier Airlines Flight Hits Trespasser on Denver Runway, Sparks Engine Fire

Air traffic control audio captured the moment a Frontier Airlines plane struck a trespasser on the runway at Denver International Airport on Friday night.

"We just hit somebody," the pilot of Flight 4345 told the control tower after stopping the takeoff. "We have an engine fire."

Smoke filled the Airbus A321's cabin, but Denver Fire Department crews quickly put out the blaze. Frontier Airlines evacuated all 224 passengers using inflatable emergency slides as a precaution.

"We are deeply saddened by this event," the airline said in a statement. The airport reported that 12 passengers had minor injuries from the incident.

Airport authorities said five of the injured passengers went to nearby hospitals. Their conditions remained unclear.

The flight was bound for Los Angeles International Airport at around 11 p.m. local time when it hit the individual, authorities said. The trespasser had jumped a perimeter fence two minutes earlier, according to the airline.

An air traffic controller had cleared the plane for takeoff and wished the crew a good night. Moments later, the pilot radioed back.

"We're stopping on the runway," the pilot said. "The plane just hit someone. There was an individual walking across the runway."

The plane was moving at high speed at the time, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

"Late last night, a trespasser breached airport security at Denver Int'l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway," Duffy said in a statement. "No one should EVER trespass on an airport."

The trespasser was not an airport employee, Denver International Airport said. "The airport has examined the fenceline and found it to be intact," the airport said in a statement.

Photos and video shared by a passenger showed smoke in the cabin. Passenger Jose Cervantes told CBS, an affiliate of the BBC's U.S. partner, that he heard a thud. "I just see the right wing just on fire and like, it's exploding."

"I thought I was going to burn to death," he said. "You know, when I just saw the fire and the smoke, I just thought I was going to burn."

Emergency crews bused the passengers back to the terminal after the evacuation, the airport said.