Frontier Airlines Jet Strikes and Kills Trespasser on Runway at Denver Airport

Newly released surveillance footage captures the moment a Frontier Airlines jet struck and killed a trespasser on the runway at Denver International Airport late Friday night.

Thermal imaging in the video, obtained by KDVR, shows the unidentified person climb a perimeter fence before walking into the path of the airplane.

"The trespasser on the runway was then struck by Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 during takeoff at high speed. The pilot stopped takeoff procedures immediately," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote in a post on X.

The crash happened around 11:19 p.m. as the plane tried to take off. It sparked a brief engine fire that authorities extinguished, according to an airport post on X.

Radio communications obtained by KDVR include a first responder's report after the collision.

"Runway 17L is closed," the responder said. "I do have limbs on the runway. I believe the aircraft struck an individual."

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

Officials said 12 people suffered injuries and five went to a local hospital. They have not released the person's identity.

"As far as security protocols, our security teams and Denver Police regularly patrol the perimeter of the airport. The person scaled the barbed-wire fence and was hit within two minutes," a Denver Airport spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Denver International Airport later posted on X that it had checked the fenceline and found it intact.

"We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved," the statement said.

The NTSB, FAA and Frontier Airlines are investigating.