Air traffic control audio captured the moments after a Frontier Airlines plane fatally struck a person who had jumped a perimeter fence on to a runway at Denver International Airport on Friday night.
“We just hit somebody,” the pilot tells the control tower after halting Flight 4345’s take-off. “We have an engine fire.”
Smoke could be seen in the Airbus A321’s cabin, but Denver Fire Department quickly extinguished the fire. All 224 passengers on board were evacuated by inflatable emergency slides as a matter of precaution, Frontier said.
“We are deeply saddened by this event,” the airline added. Twelve passengers aboard the plane reported minor injuries from the incident, the airport said.
The Frontier Airlines flight was taking off for Los Angeles International Airport at around 23:00 local time (06:00 BST) when it hit the individual, authorities said.
The unnamed individual had leapt over a perimeter fence two minutes before the impact, said the carrier.
An air traffic controller had just told the Frontier pilot they were clear for takeoff and wished them a good night.
After a short pause, the pilot called back to the tower, according to air traffic control audio.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the tower, adding that the plane just hit someone.
“There was an individual walking across the runway, ” the pilot says.
“We have 231 souls on board,” he adds, including seven crew members.
The plane was moving at a “high speed” at the time, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
“Late last night, a trespasser breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway,” Duffy said in a statement.
“No one should EVER trespass on an airport,” he added.
Commercial airliners typically take off at speeds between 150 and 180mph (240–290 km/h).
The trespasser is not believed to be an airport employee, Denver International Airport (DIA) said.
“The airport has examined the fenceline and found it to be intact,” DIA said in a statement.
Smoke in the cabin can be seen on photos and video shared by one of the passengers.
Passenger Jose Cervantes told an affiliate of the BBC’s US partner CBS that he heard a thud and then “I just see the right wing just on fire and like, it’s exploding”.
“I thought I was going to burn to death,” he added. “You know, when I just saw the fire and the smoke, I just thought I was going to burn.”
After evacuating the plane, the passengers were bused back to the terminal as emergency crews responded to the scene, DIA said.
The majority of the passengers have since left Denver on a new Frontier flight, the airport said.
The runway was closed while the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation.
“We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved,” DIA said.
