(Washington) Individual Killed After Breaching Security Perimeter at Denver International Airport

An individual who breached the security perimeter at Denver International Airport in the United States died after being struck by a plane that was about to take off, the airport announced on Saturday.

“The pedestrian breached the perimeter fence and was struck just two minutes later while crossing the runway. The pedestrian has passed away, is not believed to be an airport employee, and their identity has not been established yet,” the airport said in a statement.

The accident involved a Frontier airline plane and occurred at approximately 11:19 p.m. local time (1:19 a.m. Eastern time) on Friday.

Among the passengers on the flight, “twelve individuals reported minor injuries, and five of them were transported to local hospitals,” the airport reported.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that an investigation had been launched to shed light on this accident, raising security questions.

“NO ONE should EVER enter an airport unauthorized,” he reiterated in a post on the social network X.

An audio recording previously released on the specialized site ATC.com captured the exchange between a pilot and air traffic controllers at the site: “We’re stopping on the runway, we just hit someone, we have an engine fire… There was a person who was crossing the runway.”

According to a statement from Frontier Airlines, as reported by media outlets including CNN, “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff. Passengers were then safely evacuated using the slides as a precaution.”

The aircraft, an Airbus A321, had 224 passengers and seven crew members on board, according to Frontier.