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A man died on Friday night after being struck by a Frontier Airlines plane that was preparing for takeoff at the Denver International Airport, having evaded security and run onto the runway, authorities reported on Saturday.
The incident also left 12 people injured, of whom five were hospitalized.
The Flight 4345 of Frontier Airlines bound for Los Angeles was in the process of taking off from runway 17L when it struck the individual, around 11:19 p.m. on Friday.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene and, according to reports, was at least partially absorbed by one of the plane's engines.
The impact caused a fire in one of the engines of the Airbus A321neo and generated smoke in the cabin, with 231 people on board: 224 passengers and seven crew members.
"We're stopped on the runway. We've just hit someone. We have an engine fire," the pilot communicated to the control tower, according to audio records from ATC.com.
Minutes later, the pilot contacted the tower again: "There is smoke in the airplane. We are going to evacuate on the runway."
The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, confirmed in a statement that "the pilot immediately interrupted the takeoff procedures" and that "a rapid evacuation of the plane was carried out while security forces and firefighters arrived."
The passengers were evacuated using inflatable emergency slides directly onto the runway and transported by bus to the terminal.
The fire was quickly extinguished by the Denver Fire Department.
Frontier Airlines confirmed in an official statement that "smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted the takeoff," adding that the airline is "investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities."
The airport reported that the perimeter fence was intact after the incident, indicating that the intruder deliberately scaled it to access the runway.
The authorities have not revealed the identity of the victim and noted that they do not believe the person was an airport employee.
This type of security incidents at airports is not new in Denver: in 2019, a man scaled a perimeter fence and walked on the runway for approximately 90 minutes before being detected, highlighting chronic vulnerabilities in the facility's security.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that it is investigating the case. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was immediately notified, and runway 17L remains closed while investigations are underway.
The incident occurs in a context of heightened sensitivity for U.S. aviation.
In April last year, a Frontier airplane coming from Florida experienced an incident with visible flames in the engine during its landing in Puerto Rico, although there were no injuries.
Weeks ago, a Delta plane with 200 passengers caught fire at an airport, and in March, an American Airlines plane caught fire after landing.
The investigation is being conducted by the local police with the support of the FAA and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The NTSB will determine in the coming days how an individual managed to access one of the active runways of the largest airport in the United States by area without being intercepted in time.
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