{"id":15337,"date":"2026-05-10T08:19:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T08:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/10\/person-fatally-struck-by-frontier-jet-at-denver-international-after-fence-breach-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T08:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T08:19:53","slug":"person-fatally-struck-by-frontier-jet-at-denver-international-after-fence-breach-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/10\/person-fatally-struck-by-frontier-jet-at-denver-international-after-fence-breach-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Person fatally struck by Frontier jet at Denver International after fence breach – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Frontier Airlines jet preparing to depart Denver International Airport for Los Angeles struck and killed a pedestrian on the runway Friday night, triggering an engine fire and a chaotic scene later captured in disturbing videos circulating online.
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Denver International Airport confirmed that Frontier Flight 4345, bound for Los Angeles International Airport, reported striking a pedestrian at approximately 11:19 p.m. local time (1:19 a.m. ET Saturday), after which an engine fire broke out and was subsequently extinguished.
According to airport officials, the pedestrian had breached a perimeter fence roughly two minutes before the incident and was pronounced dead at the scene. The individual has not been publicly identified and is not believed to have been an airport employee.
Video posted to social media by a passenger appears to capture the moment of impact during takeoff. A loud crashing sound can be heard, followed by screams from passengers inside the plane.
Nikil Thalanki, a passenger on the plane, told NBC affiliate KUSA<\/a> that the fire broke out shortly after the plane\u2019s wheels momentarily lifted off the ground before landing.
\u201cSmoke filled the cabin completely \u2014 it was super hard to breathe,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then we were sitting there, what they told us to wait there, just remain seated for like two, three minutes, maybe four minutes, and then they opened up the exits.\u201d
Fellow passenger Franco Valera told KUSA that he heard a loud noise and then looked out the plane\u2019s window and saw the engine on fire.
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to relax as everyone\u2019s screaming, and people are getting up,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it was a little scary.\u201d
It is not clear if the engine fire was related to the collision.
Mohamed Hassan, a passenger on the flight, described the chaotic scene on the plane to KUSA.
\u201cHonestly, it was the scariest experience of my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI was on the flight and I looked to my right and I just saw a fire, I heard a loud boom, people started screaming.\u201d
\u201cI thought I was going to die,\u201d he added.
Hassan said that passengers were stuck on the plane for about three minutes before being evacuated, during which he inhaled \u201ca lot of toxic fumes.\u201d He said that passengers were screaming and \u201cemotions were really high at that time.\u201d
Another passenger, Kimberly Randel, said when the emergency doors opened, people were running to get off the plane.
\u201cThey made us leave our stuff, our bags, and we jumped,\u201d he told KUSA. \u201cIt was horrific moment, a terrifying moment in my life.\u201d
Karen Moon, who was also on the flight, added she was just happy she was able to disembark safely.
\u201cNothing happened to us other than a minor inconvenience,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re alive, and that\u2019s the good thing, right?\u201d
The plane, a narrow-body Airbus A321, was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members, who were evacuated via slides after smoke filled the cabin, the airline said.
\u201cThe aircraft reportedly struck a pedestrian on the runway during takeoff. Smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff,\u201d the airline said. \u201cWe are deeply saddened by this event.\u201d
The Denver airport said that 12 people reported minor injuries, including five who were transported to local hospitals.
\u201cWe are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved,\u201d the airport said in a statement.
As they got off the plane using emergency slides, another passenger recorded dimly-lit videos appearing to show damaged engine blades.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and bused passengers to the terminal, the airport said.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it is investigating the incident.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the incident in a post on X<\/a> on Saturday, writing that \u201ca trespasser breached airport security at Denver Int\u2019l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway.\u201d
\u201cNo one should EVER trespass on an airport,\u201d he wrote.
In its statement<\/a>, the airport said it had shut Runway 17L and that the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said in a statement that it commended \u201cthe quick and professional actions of the pilots and the firefighter first responders who ensured the fire did not spread as everyone onboard was ushered to safety.\u201d
Hassan said he was too shaken up from the incident and declined to take the flight Frontier offered him for free to Los Angeles on Saturday morning.
\u201cI\u2019ve never experienced something like that,\u201d he told KUSA.
Mithil Aggarwal is a Hong Kong-based reporter\/producer for NBC News.
Matthew Mulligan is a senior reporter\u00a0for the NBC News Social Newsgathering team based in London.
Jay Blackman is an NBC News producer covering such areas as transportation, space, medical and consumer issues.
Matt Lavietes is a reporter for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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