Pedestrian Killed After Plane Collision at Denver Airport

A pedestrian was killed after being struck by a Frontier Airlines aircraft during take-off at Denver International Airport, causing an engine fire and forcing an emergency evacuation of passengers.

Airport authorities said the flight was departing from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport at around 11:19pm on Friday when the collision occurred on the runway.

According to air traffic control communications, the pilot immediately halted the aircraft after reporting that the plane had hit a person on the runway and that one of the engines had caught fire.

Officials said there were 231 people on board the aircraft at the time of the incident.

Passengers were evacuated using emergency slides before being transported by buses back to the terminal building. Authorities confirmed that 12 passengers suffered minor injuries during the evacuation, while five were taken to hospital for treatment.

A spokesperson for the airport said the victim had entered the restricted airfield area after jumping over the airport’s perimeter fence shortly before the incident.

Investigators believe the individual was not an airport employee and had entered the airport grounds only minutes before being struck by the aircraft. The person’s identity has not yet been released.

The incident came just one day after an employee of Delta Air Lines was killed while working at Orlando International Airport.

The airline said it is supporting the victim’s family and assisting employees affected by the tragedy while cooperating with local authorities conducting a full investigation into the incident.