Person hit, killed by Frontier plane after jumping fence at Denver airport

Frontier plane strikes, kills person on Denver airport runway

A Frontier Airlines plane struck and killed a person who jumped a fence at the Denver airport and ran across the runway late Friday night. The impact caused an engine fire, forcing the evacuation of 231 passengers on board. 

A Frontier Airlines plane struck and killed someone on the runway while taking off from Denver International Airport Friday night. 

According to Denver airport officials, the fatal crash caused an engine fire that forced the evacuation of 231 people on board. Here’s the latest: 

Frontier plane hits ‘pedestrian’ 

What we know:

According to Denver International Airport, the Los Angeles-bound flight was taking off around 11:20 p.m. Friday when the person was hit. Officials said the person jumped the runway’s perimeter fence and was struck two minutes later while crossing the runway. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the person "deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway."

They don’t believe the person was an airport employee. 

Frontier Airlines flight strikes person on Denver runway

Denver International Airport said on social media a pedestrian jumped a perimeter fence and was hit by a Frontier plane while crossing the runway. 

"We’re stopping on the runway," the pilot told the control tower, according to the site ATC.com. "We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire."

Social media video shared from the scene shows passengers sliding down air-blown slides to evacuate while crews extinguished the fire. Twelve people reported minor injuries; five of them were taken to local hospitals. Most other passengers were booked on other flights. 

"We were in the process of take off and as the nose was lifting we heard a giant bang and then a huge fire," Jacob Anthens told Storyful. "Upon the fire igniting we were able to see legs of a person spinning in the engine like a blender. Smoke then filled the cabin and visibility was only up to a foot in front of you."

FILE: Frontier plane (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

What we don't know:

Denver International Airport hasn’t released the person’s name or a motive for jumping the fence. Frontier Airlines wasn’t immediately available for comment. 

What they're saying:

"We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved," Denver airport officials said in a statement.