Frontier Airlines Jet Kills Trespasser on Runway at Denver Airport

A Frontier Airlines jet struck and killed a person walking on the runway at Denver International Airport late Friday night, the airport said in a statement.

Frontier Flight 4345 reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at Denver at about 11:19 p.m. on Friday, May 8, 2026. A brief engine fire followed but the Denver Fire Department extinguished it quickly, the airport posted on X.

Emergency crews reached the scene and bused passengers to the terminal. The flight carried 231 people. Emergency response and investigation continue. The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified, and Runway 17L stays closed during the probe.

The airport confirmed to Fox News that the person died.

The individual breached airport security Friday night by scaling a perimeter fence and running onto the runway, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a Saturday statement on X.

The trespasser was hit by Frontier Flight 4345 at high speed during takeoff. The pilot halted the takeoff right away, Duffy wrote.

Crew evacuated the plane as law enforcement and firefighters arrived. Preliminary reports show 12 people injured, five taken to a hospital. Local law enforcement leads the security investigation with FAA and TSA support. "No one should EVER trespass on an airport," Duffy said.

Denver International Airport later updated on X that it checked the fenceline and found it intact. "We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved," the airport said.

The person was struck and at least partially consumed by one of the plane's engines, ABC News reported.

Frontier Airlines is investigating, the carrier told media.

Audio from the incident caught the pilot telling air traffic control, "We just hit somebody, we have an engine fire." The pilot added, "There was an individual walking across the runway."

Passenger Jose Cervantes described the collision to CBS News. "We were already taking off and we’re going pretty fast, and I felt like the plane started to tilt up when out of nowhere, it just -- we felt like a thud and heard, like, an explosion," he said.

"I was right on the wing, so I looked to my right and I just see, like, the right wing just on fire and it, like -- it’s exploding, and it sounds, like, horrible, you know and right away they shut the aircraft off," Cervantes said. "Well, when that happened, the aircraft lands back down and starts to swivel from side to side, then they shut it down right away. And then the cabin starts to fill with smoke, and that’s when they started evacuating everyone."