Courtesy:FrontierAirline
A Frontier Airlines runway death has left one person dead and 12 passengers injured after a chaotic sequence of events unfolded late Friday night at Denver International Airport in Colorado.
The trouble started at approximately 11:19 p.m. local time. An unidentified individual jumped a perimeter security fence and walked onto an active runway. Within two minutes of breaching the fence, Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 struck the person during takeoff. The plane carried 231 passengers and crew bound for Los Angeles. Airport authorities confirmed the individual died at the scene. Officials do not believe the person worked at the airport.
The impact immediately set off a chain of emergencies aboard the aircraft.
Engine fire and smoke force pilots to abort takeoff
The collision triggered an engine fire and sent smoke flooding through the cabin. The flight crew aborted the takeoff and brought the plane to a stop on the runway. Audio captured by the flight-tracking platform ATC.com revealed the urgency of those first moments. The pilot alerted the control tower that the plane had struck someone, that fire had broken out in the engine, and that smoke had filled the cabin. The control tower confirmed that emergency vehicles were already rolling toward the runway.
Frontier Airlines confirmed in a statement that smoke entered the cabin of Flight 4345 and that pilots aborted the takeoff. It remained unclear whether the smoke came directly from the collision or from the engine fire itself.
12 passengers injured during emergency evacuation
With conditions deteriorating inside the cabin, the crew ordered a full evacuation. Passengers used emergency escape slides to exit the aircraft on the runway. Emergency crews then bussed them to the terminal. The evacuation left 12 passengers with minor injuries. Five of those individuals went to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Passenger Jacob Athens documented the evacuation in real time. He posted video footage to social media showing travelers sliding down the emergency chutes while still carrying their backpacks. He also shared images that appeared to show significant damage to one of the plane’s engines. Athens described the engine exploding just as the aircraft began to lift off. He said smoke filled the cabin so quickly that visibility dropped to almost nothing. He also noted that passengers waited on the cold runway for more than an hour before transportation arrived.
A separate video circulating online showed passengers walking calmly through the aisle and descending the evacuation slides in an orderly manner. The footage highlighted the crew’s ability to manage the situation under extreme pressure.
Investigation underway as runway reopens
Denver International Airport confirmed that the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation into the incident. Runway 17L, where the collision occurred, closed for several hours while authorities worked the scene. The runway has since reopened to normal operations.
Frontier Airlines said it is fully cooperating with airport and safety authorities as the investigation continues. The airline is also working to gather additional details about how the individual breached the airport’s perimeter security.
Authorities have not yet released the identity of the person who died. The circumstances that led them to jump the fence and enter the active airfield remain under investigation.
Source: ABC News Australia
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