In what was possibly the rarest of rare aviation shockers, a US plane hit a person on the Denver International Airport runway in Colorado on Friday (US time). The domestic Frontier Airlines flight, Airbus A321, was originally headed to LAX, aka Los Angeles International Airport. However, given the circumstances, the air journey was called off even before the aircraft could take off the runway.

According to air traffic control recordings obtained by local US news outlets, including ABC 7 Eyewitness News, the US jet’s pilot quickly reported the unprecedented incident to the tower. The panic-stricken interaction has since been released on social media as well.

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Panic-stricken Frontier Airlines pilot reports jet hit a person

“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 recordings, as quoted by the outlet.

The pilot also told the authorities that there “231 souls on board” the plane, which appeared to have hit “an individual walking across the runway.”

Right before the situation escalated, ATC officials attempted to guide the Frontier flight, while navigating other traffic on the runway. Merely moments later, the Frontier Airlines pilot told the tower, “We’ve got smoke on the aircraft.” Subsequently, the aviator asserted that the only way out to avert a potential tragedy was to evacuate on the runway itself.

Fire crew was eventually dispatched on the scene to extinguish the engine fire.

Frontier Airlines responds to jet crashing into person on runway

The airlines later issued a statement, confirming that the passengers used slides to evacuate out of precaution, according to NBC Los Angeles.

“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” the Frontier statement read, in part. “We are deeply saddened by this event.”

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Denver International Airport also responded to the development, addressing it in a post on X. It confirmed that Flight 4345 was at the centre of the incident that involved a pedestrian being struck during takeoff at about 11:19 pm local time. It also revealed that a brief engine fire was “promptly extinguished” by the Denver Fire Department.

In a follow-up tweet, the airport said that as emergency crews responded to the scenes, passengers on board Flight 4345 were bussed to the terminal.

“Emergency response and investigation are ongoing,” it added. “The NTSB has been notified. Runway 17L will remain closed while the investigation is conducted.”

Update: Pedestrian hit by plane has died

Issuing a much-needed update, the Denver International Airport has since shared follow-up statements on X, confirming that the person hit by the Frontier flight has died.

The now-deceased “pedestrian jumped the perimeter fence and was hit just two minutes later while crossing the runway,” said the @DENAirport. The jaywalker is not believed to be an airport employee. Their identity has yet to be publicly disclosed.

Following the investigation into the case, the airport said that it had examined the fenceline and found it to be intact. 12 other people reported minor injuries in the wake of the incident. 5 of them were taken to local hospitals. At the time, Runway 17L remained close for further investigations, with officials promising its reopening within the next few hours.

Sharing yet another update, the airport expressed grief over what happened on the Denver runway. “We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved,” the official account wrote online, adding that the accident scene has since been cleared and Runway 17L has opened again.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also sounded the alarm about the trespasser breaching airport security at Denver International Airport in a fuming statement on X. Speaking out against the pedestrian for “deliberately” scaling a perimeter fence and running out onto a runway, he asserted, “No one should EVER trespass on an airport.”