One person died and 17 people were subsequently injured in an evacuation after a person on the active runway at Denver International Airport was “partially” sucked through an engine on a Frontier A321neo taking off for Los Angeles on Friday night. The name of the person has not been released and all references have avoided specifying their gender. A new video was aired as part of a news segment on the Denver CBS affiliate and AvBrief’s own Larry Anglisano provided some context for the tragedy. The collision caused an engine fire that prompted the emergency evacuation. Five passengers were taken to a hospital while a dozen were treated at the scene with injuries from the evacuation. There were 224 passengers and seven crew on the flight, which was departing just before midnight.
According to airport officials, the person who was struck hopped a perimeter fence and made a beeline for the runway, covering the distance in less than two minutes and presumably before they could be intercepted by airside security. The aircraft engine was destroyed by ingesting the person. Local authorities are investigating the security incident while the FAA and NTSB fire up their normal procedures for what will likely be investigated as an accident. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted an assessment of the incident early Saturday.
“A trespasser breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway. The trespasser on the runway was then struck by Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 during takeoff at high speed,” Duffy wrote on X. “The pilot stopped takeoff procedures immediately. “The Frontier plane was then quickly evacuated while law enforcement and firefighters responded.”
Frontier Airlines ENGINE after pedestrian ‘SUCKED’ in
— RT (@RT_com) May 9, 2026
Person JUMPED perimeter fence, hit just 2 MINUTES later crossing runway
They’re dead, identity STILL unknown pic.twitter.com/HGhMxzBBBA
Darwin award. Not a hit and run. Would like “Roadrunners or Wily Coyote’s” opinion on this. How really goofy can you get?
There are lots of people on lots of different drugs these days. There are also a lot of people getting very desperate and losing everything they ever had.
Before any awards are doled out my sympathies go out for the flight crew, pax and any others directly involved in either what appears to me a likely suicide, or some other reason for the tragedy.
Maybe we’ll know more eventually
When first responders or military die in the course of their duties, then that’s tragic. When innocent people starve to death or lack of water, that’s tragic. When non-combatants in a war die that is both tragic and possibly criminal. As this person climbed a fence and then ran out in front of a jet full of passengers and aircrew loaded with 10+ tons of fuel attempting takeoff jeapordizing everyones lives, I’d call that criminal.
While a good point, it sounds like there will not be much opportunity for prosecution.
Despite the fact that Phil Washington (Denver International Airport CEO) described the event as a “horrible and preventable tragedy”,
ABC News reported on the “deadly tragedy” in their coverage,
Fox News labeled the incident a “tragic incident” on their Instagram story,
WPXI Hindustan Times referred to the incident as a “Denver airport tragedy”,
AvBrief’s own Editor-in-Chief wrote ‘A new video was aired as part of a news segment on the Denver CBS affiliate and AvBrief’s own Larry Anglisano provided some context for the tragedy,’
and dozens of Social Media/News Aggregators used the term,
Tragically for us all, we missed the opportunity to initially focus on the trespassing, rather than the humanity of the incident. Got it. Important lesson for everyone to learn. Good catch.
Thanks. Got it. Sometimes it’s difficult to parse the value of comments when the issue is locked onto by the media concerned with readership/followers rather than examining other more probable outcomes. Public media aren’t the lamprey eels attaching themselves to opportunistic prey in all instances but they love to use terms like “Tragic, Unfortunate, Powerless, Minorities, Unaccountable, Disadvantaged “ and so forth to create sensationalism when the article languishes due to misinterest and commonality. The loss of human life is regrettable/unfortunate when really poor decisions are made such as “streaking” in front of a departing airliner having utterly no regard for ANY consequences to self or others. PTSD on the flight deck? How about the folks dealing with the aftermath of all this and then the folks returning to work once everything is “back in place” and the aircraft and crews are returned to service. Any medical issues ensuing ?
Drunk? Drugs? Suicide by CFM LEAP-1B?
Now airports should heighten perimeter security because others sadly contemplating suicide may attempt this.
Same happens when suicide by train. Others copy.
I think we can expect a whole lot more of this type of thing as economic conditions deteriorate, people lose jobs, prisons release and illegals in country get desperate.
Air India next in line a few moments ago.
https://x.com/gbx_press/status/2053834439780712493?s=43
And I’m sure all of these oil rig and refinery explosions over the last few months are just accidents. Right!!!. Did I mention that there might be a war going on?
https://x.com/bgatesisapyscho/status/2053905381148033177?s=43
https://nypost.com/2026/05/11/us-news/southern-california-oil-rig-catches-fire-workers-evacuated/
With the nosewheel off the ground already, had to be at or past V1. Quick decision by the pilot, who looked like an old timer.
I’d like to see exact runway numbers used to get stopped with an asymmetrically failed engine from 145 knots or so. You’d have to be really Careful on that other live reverser on the good engine at those speeds.
Roger, the video shown in the media shot by a pax during the takeoff run does not show any signs of rotation. Startle factor does come into play since the crew would not have seen the individual until a second or two before the strike. However, their training would be such that if past V1 you would only abort if you had serious doubts as to the ability of the aircraft to maintain controlled flight. Part 25 planes are designed and certified to fly with an engine failure at V1.
Thanks. A video from outside appeared to show the nose elevated some. And a passenger reported she first felt the nose begin to rise and then saw the flames. In any case, be prepared for what ever during a takeoff. Quick judgement by the Captain. Don’t take a burning engine into the air if it can at all be avoided.
From the videos, it looks like there is a “flash” from the engine just before the pedestrian is hit? Could that be a result of the takeoff abort?
Most-likely ‘Compressor-Stall’ due to FOD/ Ingestion
But it appears to me that this flash occurs before the FOD/ingestion? In the Denver Airport surveillance video, there is a glow aft of the engine, but the pedestrian is visible in front of the engine. Maybe because infrared camera showing high heat? Not important–just curious.
The bleed air smells awful just from a bird ingestion. I can only imagine what it smelled like after an adult goes through and comes out the other end.
The mind boggles!
What happens when airplanes meet submarines?
https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/component/content/article/yesterday-a-nuke-missile-sub-today-the-plane-to-order-it-to-launch?catid=17&Itemid=101
Not to take away from the tragedy, but why are people still risking the lives of others by grabbing their belongings from the overheads and delaying the emergency evacuation. And then stand around, getting in the way of other passengers coming off, filming it all on their phones instead of moving away from a possible exploding aircraft full of fuel.
Would love to see magnetic locks on the overheads that would be controlled by the cabin crew anytime the seatbelt light is on.