Chilling audio from the moments after a Frontier Airlines plane struck a pedestrian on the runway has revealed the pilots' shocking reaction to the tragic event. Flight 4345 hit and killed the individual during takeoff on Friday evening at Denver International Airport, leaving a horrific scene of human remains on the runway.
Incident Details
According to airport spokespeople, the victim scaled an airport fence and ran onto the runway without warning at around 11 p.m. local time. In the newly revealed audio, an air traffic control employee can be heard warning pilots of 'a party walking on the runway' just two minutes before the accident. The Frontier flight had already been cleared for takeoff en route to Los Angeles and was speeding down the runway before coming to a sudden halt.
'Tower, Frontier 4345, we're stopping on the runway. Uh, we just hit somebody … we have an engine fire,' the pilot said, according to air traffic control audio. He recalled seeing the 'individual walking across the runway.'
'I do have limbs on the runway, I believe the aircraft has struck an individual,' the air traffic control employee confirmed during flight communications. 'I've got what appears to be a deceased person on the runway,' the employee added.
Passenger Accounts
The unidentified victim was partially stuck in one of the airplane's engines, causing the cabin to fill with smoke. 'We've got smoke in the aircraft, we're going to evacuate on the runway,' the pilot calmly told air traffic control. Emergency personnel were quickly called to the scene as those aboard the Airbus A321neo braced for evacuation. Passengers and crew evacuated using emergency slides, though some alleged they sat on the plane for three minutes before being evacuated.
There were at least 12 minor injuries among those on the aircraft, and five people were transported to local hospitals. The rest of the passengers were bused to the terminal and have since left on a new Frontier flight. There were 224 passengers on board.
One passenger described watching 'the legs of a human' spin around in the engine as the cabin filled with smoke. 'The majority of people didn't know what was going on or what happened,' said Minnesota father John Athens. 'But there was just a big explosion and, obviously, when you hear a big explosion, people start screaming, kids are crying and it was horrific.'
Official Statements
Denver International Airport released a statement confirming that a person 'jumped the perimeter fence' near the runway and was hit two minutes later at 11:19 p.m. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy condemned the victim's actions on social media, stating, 'Late last night, a trespasser breached airport security at Denver Int'l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway. … No one should EVER trespass on an airport.'
Runway 17L, where the collision occurred, shut down following the crash but reopened before 11 a.m. on Saturday. The airport confirmed Saturday that it was not an employee who had been struck and there were no signs of forced entry onto the runway. 'The airport has examined the fenceline and found it to be intact,' it wrote on social media. 'We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved.' Frontier and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. The National Transportation Safety Board is also aware of the incident.
