Frontier Airlines Plane Strikes And Kills Pedestrian After Fence Breach At Denver International Airport

A pedestrian who crossed the security perimeter of Denver International Airport in the United States died after being struck by a Frontier Airlines aircraft preparing to take off, the airport said on Saturday.

“A Frontier Airlines plane struck and killed a pedestrian on a runway at Denver International Airport during takeoff, a flight bound for Los Angeles, the airport said in a statement, based on information provided by Reuters on May 9, 2026 at 8:25 PM”

Boursorama

The airport said the pedestrian crossed the perimeter fence and was struck barely two minutes later as he was crossing the runway around 11:19 p.m. local time on Friday.

Boursorama

The incident involved a Frontier Airlines aircraft on the Denver-to-Los Angeles International Airport route, and the aircraft was an Airbus A321 carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.

The airport said 12 people reported minor injuries and five were transported to local hospitals, and it said the runway was temporarily closed to allow the investigation.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an investigation had been opened to shed light on the accident, and he posted on X: "No one should EVER enter an airport without authorization."

An audio recording published on ATC.com captured the pilot telling air traffic controllers, "We’re stopping on the runway, we’ve just hit someone, we have a fire in an engine... There was a person crossing the runway."

ELTIEMPO.COM

Frontier Airlines said in a statement that smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted the takeoff, and passengers were safely evacuated by slides as a precaution.

The airport said the National Transportation Safety Board was notified and that Runway 17L, where the incident occurred, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted.

The airport said the incident raised safety questions and that an investigation was opened, while Frontier said it was investigating the incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.

“Frontier Airlines jet struck and killed a pedestrian on the runway at Denver International Airport during takeoff, authorities said, causing a fire in one engine and forcing passengers to evacuate”

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The airport spokesperson said the pedestrian had jumped a perimeter fence and died, and it said the person was not believed to be an airport employee.

Boursorama, citing information provided by Reuters, said the incident caused a brief engine fire with smoke in the cabin of the Airbus A321 and that all passengers were evacuated safely.

Boursorama also said the airport inspected the fence breached by the individual and found it intact, while U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said local law enforcement were investigating the incident with the support of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).