Terrifying videos show Frontier Airlines passengers fleeing smoke-filled cabin after jet strikes person on Denver runway
Terrifying videos show passengers fleeing the Frontier Airlines plane which struck an apparent trespasser at Denver airport â as smoke fills the cabin.
Some travelers ignored warnings to leave their belongings as they rushed to evacuate the hazy cabin Friday night caused by an engine fire.
One video showed the Los Angeles-bound Airbus A321neo plane hurtling down the runway at speeds just under 140mph â before there was a bright orange flash, with sparks seen flying from the back of one of the planeâs engines.

Footage shared on TikTok captured the moment a Frontier Airlines plane struck an apparent trespasser on the runway at Denver airport.@aviat.addict/TikTok
Passengers ignored instructions to their leave bags on board as they rushed to evacuate the dark, hazy cabin â with one shouting, âFire on the engine, let me out.â
âSmoke filled the cabin completely â it was super hard to breathe,â Nikil Thalanki told KUSA.
âAnd then we were sitting there, what they told us to wait there, just remain seated for like two, three minutes, maybe four minutes, and then they opened up the exits.â
One stewardess even shouted, âPlease leave all belongings, your belongings are safe, your lives are more important.â
Passengers were told to âstay low and jumpâ as they approached the inflatable slides.
âHoly sât, we almost died,â one passenger said in one social media clip they looked at the stationary plane.
âThat is fâking crazy.â
Some passengers were seen taking in the extent of the damage to the planeâs engine following the explosion.
Mohamed Hassan, who was also on the plane, told KUSA it was the âscariest experience of my life.â

One passenger looked as if she was on the phone as others around her rushed to grab their belongings.Jack Estenssoro / AP
âI was on the flight, and I looked to my right and I just saw a fire, I heard a loud boom, people started screaming. I thought I was going to die,â he said.
New security video released by the City and County of Denver shows the moment the person was struck while walking on the runway.
The victim can be seen walking from one end to the other with little urgency. They appeared to be perfectly aligned with one of the planeâs engines when part of their upper body was sucked inside.

One man put a mask on as smoke filled the cabin.Jack Estenssoro / AP
The collision occurred roughly two minutes after the individual hopped the fence, KHOU 11 reported. The plane was moving at 139 mph at the time of the crash, according to FlightAware.
The pilot told air traffic controllers, âWeâre stopping on the runway,â just moments after the collision.
âWe just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.â

Passengers were ordered to âstay low, jumpâ before bouncing off the planeâs inflatable slides.Jacob Anthens via Storyful

Stunned passengers were seen surveying the damage to the planeâs engine after evacuating.Jacob Anthens via Storyful
The pilot said an âindividual was walking across the runwayâ before the air traffic controller responds theyâre ârolling the trucks.â
The pilot then tells air traffic controllers they âhave smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.â
All 224 passengers and seven crew members were safely evacuated from the plane.
Phil Washington, the Denver Airport CEO, said he âknowsâ there are questions still to be answered.
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âAs this is an active investigation with numerous other agencies involved, it is going to take some time as we are still confirming what information we can share at this time,â he said.
âThis was a horrible and preventable tragedy that has affected many due to the actions of one person who apparently trespassed at an airport and lost their life as a result.â
With Post wires.
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