Emergency slides can be seen being used after a Frontier Airlines plane struck a pedestrian at Denver Airport yesterday – the pedestrian was killed during the incident
The moment passengers — including children — on a Frontier Airlines plane which struck and killed a pedestrian were evacuated was caught in dramatic footage.
The flight was bound for Los Angeles in the US when, during takeoff, it struck and killed a person walking on the runway at Denver International Airport. The person who died was “partially consumed by one of the engines” triggering an engine fire that was put out by firefighters.
Emergency slides can be seen being operated, with a number of the 231 people on board the aircraft at the time sliding down onto a darkened runway. Footage on social media also shows the damage to the plane engine, while a responder urges passengers to move away.
Further footage from inside the aircraft showed the moment the pedestrian was struck as orange sparks begin shooting out of the engine on the right wing and some alarmed passengers can be heard reacting in shock.
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Air traffic control audio obtained from ATC.com captured the crew reporting the crisis to the tower. “Tower, Frontier 4345, we’re stopping on the runway. Uh, we just hit somebody… we have an engine fire,” the pilot is heard on the audio from ATC.
When questioned about the number of people on board, the pilot replied, “We have 231 souls on board… There was an individual walking across the runway.”
Shortly afterwards, the pilot reported deteriorating conditions and the urgent need to evacuate. “We’ve got smoke on the aircraft, we’re gonna evacuate on the runway,” the pilot said. Denver Fire Department rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze.
A spokesperson for Denver Airport said the pedestrian jumped a perimeter fence. A person, who is as yet unidentified, was hit two minutes after entering the airport. They are not believed to be an airport employee.
Frontier Airlines said in a statement that Flight 4345 “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff”
It added: “Passengers were then safely evacuated via slides as a matter of precaution. The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members. We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities. We are deeply saddened by this event.”
The US national transportation Safety Board was notiied, Denver Airport said. The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport.
