Pedestrian killed after being hit by plane at Denver Airport

A person has been killed after being hit by a departing plane at Denver International Airport minutes after they jumped the airport's fence.

Frontier Flight 4345 reported striking a pedestrian during take-off at about 11.19pm local time - Saturday, 6.19am UK time - and emergency services responded to the scene.

The deceased, who hasn't yet been identified, was struck as they crossed Runway 17L just two minutes after having jumped the airport's fence.

Pilots aborted the take-off and passengers were evacuated from the aircraft via emergency slides after smoke was reported in the cabin.

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

The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew at the time of the incident, with 12 people reporting minor injuries and five of those being transported to local hospitals.

Passengers on the Los Angeles bound flight were taken by bus to the airport terminal and the majority have since departed on a new Frontier flight.

The runway was closed immediately after the incident while investigations were carried out but is expected to reopen within the next few hours.

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Frontier Airlines said it was "deeply saddened by this event" and Denver International Airport said it expressed "sympathies to those involved".

The airport examined the fence line at the site and found it to be intact, the deceased isn't believed to be an employee of the airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified of the incident.

(c) Sky News 2026: Pedestrian killed after being hit by plane at Denver Airport