An audio recording and passenger video document the moments after a Frontier Airlines jet struck a person while departing Denver International Airport on Friday.
Air traffic control audio posted on ATC.com begins with routine clearance for takeoff. Roughly 30 seconds into the recording, the pilot tells controllers the aircraft is “stopping on the runway,” then says, “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.” Controllers promptly provide instructions to vacate the runway.
The pilot later reports that “there was an individual walking across the runway,” and, about 40 seconds after the first alert, says there is “smoke in the aircraft” and that the crew will evacuate on the runway. A passenger-shot video shared with CBS News shows smoke inside the cabin as passengers and crew deploy inflatable slides to leave the plane.
Photos and video circulating after the incident appear to show blood on one of the engines. There was no immediate public information about the condition of the person struck or how that person accessed the runway.
Frontier Airlines said none of the 224 passengers or seven crew members aboard were injured. Emergency crews transported passengers by bus back to the terminal, and the airline rescheduled the flight to Los Angeles. Frontier is investigating the incident and notified authorities.
The National Transportation Safety Board was informed, and Denver International Airport said the runway involved will remain closed during the investigation.
The reporting is based on ATC.com audio and video and images provided to CBS News. Further details about the pedestrian’s condition and the circumstances that led to the person being on the runway have not been released.