The National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday said it is gathering information about the evacuation of a Frontier Airlines plane after it hit and killed a person on the runway at Denver International Airport during takeoff.
The plane, which was heading to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,” according to a post on the airport’s official X account.
Passengers were evacuated via slides, and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. An airport spokesperson said 12 passengers received minor injuries and five were taken to hospitals.
Some people on board expressed concern about the evacuation, including being stuck in the plane for several minutes as smoke filled the cabin and left on the tarmac in the cold once they were out. Video also showed some passengers coming down the slide with what looked to be their carry-on bags.
“We are gathering information about the emergency evacuation to determine if it meets criteria for a safety investigation,” NTSB spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick said early Sunday, adding that the agency might have more details in a few hours.
Frontier Airlines didn’t respond early Sunday to a request for information about the evacuation.
A spokesman for the Denver Police Department said Sunday the investigation into the incident was ongoing and that the identity of the person on the runway will be confirmed and released by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.
The CEO of the Denver airport, Phil Washington, said he “knows” there are questions still to be answered.
“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,” Washington said in a statement. “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.”
Two minutes after jumping a fence, the person crossed the runway and was hit. The only details the airport has released was that they do not believe the person was an airport employee.
Source: WPLG
