Horrific video shows moment Frontier Airlines plane collides with man on Denver runway

The horrific video of the incident has gone viral.Airport officials said that an unidentified person had entered the runway area by jumping the perimeter fence just minutes before the collision.According to news agency AP, officials said the man was attacked about two minutes after entering the airport grounds and was not believed to be an airport employee.

Pilot reported engine fire after collision

Audio from ATC.com captures the pilot notifying air traffic control immediately after the collision.“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot said. “We just hit someone. Our engine caught fire.”The pilot later told controllers that there were “231 people” on board and that “one person was walking on the runway.”Air traffic control responded that emergency crews were being dispatched.The pilot then reported smoke inside the aircraft and informed the tower that passengers would be evacuated to the runway.Frontier Airlines said the incident involved flight number 4345 and confirmed that the flight was canceled after smoke was seen in the cabin. The airline said there were 224 passengers and seven crew members on board.“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with airport and other security officials,” Frontier said in a statement quoted by the AP.

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Passengers described panic inside the smoke-filled cabin

The aircraft was evacuated using emergency slides before passengers were taken back to the terminal by buses. Airport officials said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to hospital.Several passengers told local media that panic spread as the plane suddenly stopped and the cabin filled with smoke.“Honestly, I thought I was going to die,” passenger Mohammed Hassan told Colorado’s 9NEWS.“There were a lot of people screaming and crying next to me. I just closed my eyes,” he said. “At that point, you’re not really thinking about anything, you know? Because we were just about to take off and I heard that boom.”Nikil Thalanki, another passenger, said that as the plane prepared to take off, he felt a strong jolt.“The engine was on fire. There were a lot of sparks coming out. Immediately the engine shut down,” he told local outlets, according to the AP.“The cabin was completely filled with smoke. It became very difficult to breathe.”Kimberly Randall also described scenes of chaos during the evacuation.“Within a few minutes they finally opened the doors. People were running to get out of the plane,” Randall said. “There was chaos everywhere.”

NTSB is reviewing the evacuation response

The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday it was gathering information to determine whether the evacuation required a formal safety investigation.NTSB spokeswoman Sarah Taylor Sulick said the agency was reviewing details of the emergency response, including passenger evacuation procedures.Video from the scene showed some passengers leaving the plane with their luggage, an issue the NTSB has repeatedly raised in previous evacuation investigations.The Denver Police Department said the investigation into the runway death is ongoing, while the identity of the deceased will be released by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington called the incident a “terrible and preventable tragedy.”“As this is an active investigation with multiple other agencies, this will take some time as we are still confirming what information we can share at this time,” Washington said in a statement.“This was a terrible and preventable tragedy that has affected many people due to the actions of one individual who clearly trespassed at an airport and lost his life as a result.”