A flight taking off from Denver International Airport struck a pedestrian on the runway during takeoff on Friday, Frontier Airlines and the airport said, as videos showed the inside of the engine casing partially red.
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The airport said Frontier Flight 4345 to Los Angeles International Airport reported striking a pedestrian at around 11:19 p.m. on Friday (1:19 a.m. Saturday ET), followed by an engine fire that was extinguished.
Neither the airline nor the airport gave any details on the pedestrian or their status. It is not clear if the engine fire was related to the collision.
The plane, a narrow-body Airbus A321, was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members, who were evacuated via slides after smoke filled the cabin, the airline said.
“The aircraft reportedly struck a pedestrian on the runway during takeoff. Smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff,” the airline said. “We are deeply saddened by this event.”
Footage posted to social media by a passenger appears to capture the moment of impact during take-off. A loud crashing sound can be heard, followed by screams from passengers inside the plane.
As they got off the plane using emergency slides, another passenger recorded dimly-lit videos appearing to show damaged engine blades.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and bussed passengers to the terminal, the airport said.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it is investigating the incident.
In its statement, the airport said it had shut runway 17L and that the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified.
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