The Denver International Airport in the United States said in a statement that late on Friday night local time, a Frontier Airlines passenger plane scheduled to fly to Los Angeles hit the runway during takeoff and killed a pedestrian. The Frontier Airlines flight reported hitting a pedestrian during takeoff and the takeoff was canceled. The airport said the pedestrian, who has not yet been identified, scaled a fence and was struck just two minutes after crossing the runway.
The statement said the pedestrian was not believed to be an airport employee.
The incident caused a brief engine fire on the Airbus A321 aircraft carrying 224 passengers and 7 crew members, and thick smoke erupted from the cabin, but all personnel were safely evacuated.
The airport said a total of 12 people suffered minor injuries, and five of them were sent to local hospitals for treatment.
Frontier Airlines said it is coordinating with airport and other security authorities to investigate the incident and gather more information.
The airport said it had closed the runway where the incident occurred and expected to reopen in a few hours, adding that it had inspected the fence that the person climbed over and confirmed that it was intact.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said local law enforcement was investigating the incident with support from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration.