Frontier flight strikes and kills person on DIA runway, forcing evacuation of 231 passengers
May 9, 2026, 9:14 AM | Updated: 9:23 am
A frightening scene unfolded at Denver International Airport late Friday night after a Frontier Airlines jet struck and killed a person on the runway during takeoff, triggering an emergency evacuation of everyone on board.
Frontier Flight 4345, an Airbus A321 bound for Los Angeles, was rolling down Runway 17L at approximately 11:19 p.m. when it hit a pedestrian who had jumped the airport’s perimeter fence and was crossing the runway. DIA officials say the person was struck just two minutes after breaching the fence. The individual was killed; their identity has not been released, and they are not believed to have been an airport employee.
The collision caused a brief engine fire and filled the cabin with smoke, prompting the pilots to abort takeoff. “We’re stopping on the runway. We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire,” the pilot told air traffic control. All 231 people on board — 224 passengers and seven crew members — were evacuated using the plane’s emergency slides and bused back to the terminal.
Twelve passengers reported minor injuries, and five were taken to local hospitals. Most passengers were eventually able to depart Denver on a replacement Frontier flight. The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified, and Runway 17L remains closed while the investigation is conducted. Denver Police, the FAA, and the TSA are all involved in determining how the individual was able to breach airport security.
“We are deeply saddened by this event,” Frontier Airlines said in a statement.
You can listen to the communication between the Frontier flight and the tower here:
