<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A person who jumped a fence and was on a runway at Denver International Airport was struck and killed by a Frontier Airlines plane during takeoff.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The collision sparked an engine fire and forced passengers to evacuate the aircraft.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11.19 pm on Friday [Saturday AEST]”, according to a post on the airport’s official X account.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>BUDGET:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-major-reforms-make-for-another-banana-republic-moment/92b24eee-94c3-446f-b595-75541e9f15c7" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Expect federal budget to be as significant as 'banana republic' warning</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A spokesperson for the airport said the person, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/person-dies-hit-frontier-airlines-plane-denver-airport/c59db2ff-1710-4f99-b8e5-466bfd9a4254" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway”.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Frontier Airlines said in a statement that flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the collision.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The airline said the plane was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>POLITICS:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/farrer-byelection-2026-results-existential-crisis-liberal-party-coalition-one-nation/cfb453bc-599a-4991-88cc-3fe74f8a7749" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>The existential crisis facing Coalition after 'good old-fashioned flogging'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” the airline said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Passengers were evacuated via slides and the emergency crew transported them to the terminal. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to hospitals.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One passenger, Jacob Athens, posted video showing people sliding down the evacuation slide. He also posted photos of what looked like a damaged engine.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“As we were lifting off the engine of the plane exploded. There was so much smoke we couldn’t even see 1 ft in front of us,” Athens said on his Facebook page, adding that passengers had to wait for over a hour on the runway and “still no transport or help with the cold”.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>HANTAVIRUS:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/hantavirus-cruise-ship-update-mv-hondius-evacuation-canary-islands-spain/e634af59-5258-4fd1-95bf-c178e5f61128" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Details of evacuation plan for hantavirus cruise ship revealed</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Other video shows passengers calmly walking down the aisle of the plane and using the slide to evacuate. They were told to step away from the plane.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, was closed amid an investigation. It reopened on Saturday at around 11 am local time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the person “breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He added: “No one should EVER trespass on an airport.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><p><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1"><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></p></li><li><p><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w"><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a></p></li><li><p><em><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine"><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a></p></li></ul></div></div>