Late on Friday, May 8, 2026, a Frontier Airlines flight struck and killed a person who managed to breach a perimeter fence and entered a runway at Denver International Airport. As smoke filled the cabin following the impact, pilots were forced to abort takeoff and evacuate passengers on emergency slides.
The Airbus A321, operating as Frontier Flight 4345 from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members on board. Authorities said, the collision happened at roughly 11:19 p.m. local time.
Air traffic control audio captured the tense moments after the aircraft hit the individual during takeoff.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot reported to the tower. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot added, “there was an individual walking across the runway,” and informed controllers there were “231 souls on board.”
Airport officials later revealed the person had jumped a perimeter fence about two minutes before the collision and was not believed to be an airport employee. The individual died at the scene and has not been publicly identified.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the person as a “trespasser” who,
“deliberately scaled a perimter fence and ran out onto a runway.”
“No one should EVER trespass on an airport,” Duffy mentioned.
Frontier Airlines reported smoke in the cabin after the collision, prompting pilots to abort takeoff. Denver Fire Department crews extinguished the engine fire, and all passengers were evacuated using inflatable emergency slides.
Twelve passengers reported minor injuries, airport officials said, and five were transported to local hospitals. However, their conditions were not immediately known.
Passenger Jose Cervantes told CBS he heard a loud impact before seeing flames near the aircraft wing.
“I just see the right wing just on fire and like, it’s exploding,” Cervantes said, adding, “I thought I was going to burn to death.”
In the hours that followed, the runway was shut down as investigators moved in to comb through the scene and reconstruct what had happened. The investigation is led by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Local law enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are also going through security footage of the breach.
Airport officials said an initial inspection found the perimeter fence completely intact despite the trespass.
Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington mentioned that investigators are continuing to piece together exactly what happened.
“We know there are questions to be answered still,” Washington said on Sunday, May 10, 2026. “Safety is paramount in everything we do in aviation and at DEN.”
“We are deeply saddened by this event,” the airline said.
Frontier said most passengers later departed Denver on a replacement flight to Los Angeles.
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