Tragic details are emerging after a horrific accident at Denver International Airport, where a man died after being struck by a Frontier Airlines plane during takeoff.
The incident occurred Friday as Frontier Flight 4345 was preparing to depart for Los Angeles International Airport. According to ABC News, the man was reportedly walking on the runway when the aircraft struck him during takeoff.
In a statement released Friday night, Frontier Airlines confirmed the incident.
“As flight 4345 was departing this evening from Denver International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, the aircraft reportedly struck a pedestrian on the runway during takeoff,” the airline said.
Air traffic control audio captured the chilling moment the pilot alerted the tower to the emergency.
The pilot informed air traffic control, according to AP, saying: “We’re stopping on the runway,” according to the site ATC.com, before adding: “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
“This was a horrible and preventable tragedy”
The pilot also told air traffic controllers there were “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”
The pilot later added: “We’ve got smoke on the aircraft, we’re gonna evacuate on the runway.”
Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington addressed the tragedy in a statement following the incident.
“As this is an active investigation with numerous other agencies involved, it is going to take some time as we are still confirming what information we can share at this time.
“This was a horrible and preventable tragedy that has affected many due to the actions of one person who apparently trespassed at an airport and lost their life as a result.”
ABC News reported that the victim was at least partially pulled into one of the aircraft’s engines, which allegedly sparked a fire. More than 200 passengers were evacuated from the plane using emergency slides as emergency crews responded to the scene. Travelers were later transported back to the terminal by bus.
The Denver Fire Department extinguished the fire, and the flight was ultimately canceled before being rescheduled for Saturday morning.
