On the evening of May 8, at Denver International Airport (Colorado, USA), a Frontier Airlines plane killed a person during takeoff. The airport's press service reported this on the social network X.
According to the airport administration, the man climbed over the fence and ran out onto the runway – at that moment the plane was accelerating on the runway, as a result, it hit a pedestrian. He died on the spot.
According to preliminary information, he was not an airport employee.
After the impact, a short-term engine fire occurred, which was promptly extinguished by firefighters.
After the incident, the administration checked the fence around the airport and said it remained intact.
12 victims are also known, five of them were hospitalized.
Runway 17L was temporarily closed for investigation but has since been reopened.
Flight passenger Jacob Antens wrote about the incident on Facebook. He said that during takeoff, an engine explosion occurred and thick smoke quickly filled the plane's interior, making it difficult for passengers to see anything in front of them.
According to the Associated Press, there were 224 passengers and seven crew members on board.
Separately, Antens noted that after the incident, people remained on the runway for more than an hour without transport and proper assistance, particularly in cold conditions, and criticized the organization of the response to the emergency.
