Frontier jet strikes, kills person on Denver airport runway during takeoff after security breach

A Frontier Airlines jet struck and killed a person who was walking on the runway at Denver International Airport late Friday night, according to a statement from the airport.

"Frontier Flight 4345 reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday, May 8, 2026. There was a brief engine fire that was promptly extinguished by the Denver Fire Dept.," the airport wrote in a post on X.

"Emergency crews responded to the scene and bussed passengers to the terminal. 231 souls were on board. Emergency response and investigation are ongoing. The NTSB has been notified. Runway 17L will remain closed while the investigation is conducted," the statement concluded.

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The airport confirmed to Fox News that the person is deceased.

The person struck breached airport security Friday night to scale a perimeter fence and dash out onto the runway, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a Saturday morning statement.

"The trespasser on the runway was then struck by Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 during takeoff at high speed. The pilot stopped takeoff procedures immediately," Duffy wrote in a post on X.

"The Frontier plane was then quickly evacuated while law enforcement and firefighters responded. Preliminary reports are 12 people were hurt, with 5 taken to the hospital. Local law enforcement handles airport security and is investigating with support from the FAA and TSA. No one should EVER trespass on an airport," Duffy concluded.

Denver International Airport indicated in a graphic shared with Fox News Digital precisely where the breach occurred. 

"As far as security protocols, our security teams and Denver Police regularly patrol the perimeter of the airport. The person scaled the barbed-wire fence and was hit within two minutes," a Denver Airport spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

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Denver International Airport later posted an update to X saying it "has examined the fenceline and found it to be intact."

"We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved," it added.

The person killed was struck and "at least partially consumed" by one of the plane's engines, ABC News reported.

Frontier Airlines is conducting an investigation, the company told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Audio from the incident captures the moment the plane and person collided.

"We just hit somebody, we have an engine fire," the pilot told an air traffic controller, according to audio from the ATC app.

"There was an individual walking across the runway," the pilot told the ATC.

A witness described to CBS the moment the collision occurred.

"We were already taking off, and we're going pretty fast, and I felt like the plane started to tilt up when out of nowhere, it just - we felt like a thud and heard, like, an explosion," Jose Cervantes told CBS News.

"I was right on the wing, so I looked to my right and I just see, like, the right wing just on fire and it, like - it's exploding, and it sounds, like, horrible, you know - and right away they shut the aircraft off," Cervantes said. 

"Well, when that happened, the aircraft lands back down and starts to swivel from side to side, then they shut it down right away. And then the cabin starts to fill with smoke, and that's when they started evacuating everyone."

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Fox News Digital contacted Frontier, the FAA, the DOT, the NTSB and Denver Airport for comment.

Fox News' Madeleine Rivera contributed to this report.