Officials announced on Tuesday, May 12th that the individual hit by a plane at Denver airport on Friday committed suicide. A 41-year-old pedestrian crossed the perimeter fence two minutes before being struck by a Frontier Airlines plane.
The chief coroner of the city and county of Denver, Sterling McLaren, confirmed in a press conference with the media on May 12th that the pedestrian’s death was indeed a suicide. He noted that Michael Mott, 41, suffered multiple traumas.
According to airport director Phillip Washington, Michael Mott, who did not work at the airport, climbed over a 2.4-meter-high fence topped with barbed wire before reaching the runway. It took about two minutes from the intrusion to the collision with the Frontier Airlines plane at 11:15 PM local time.
Authorities specified that while they determined it was a suicide, no farewell letter written by Michael Mott has been found yet, nor any personal belongings near the airport, not even a vehicle he could have used to get there. Denver police chief Ron Thomas mentioned that Mott had previous encounters with law enforcement in the region, without specifying the nature of these “contacts.”
NBC News reported that the American had a criminal record with burglary, home invasion, and escape from a detention facility charges.
The incident raised concerns in the United States about airport security. An alarm was triggered at 11:10 PM near where Mott breached the barrier, but a service agent initially mistook it for a group of deer. Airport officials were unable to prevent Mott from reaching the runway in the short time available, as cameras alternated between wildlife and the man in his forties.
After the incident, Denver airport officials announced an investigation and are considering “improvements” to their security system to prevent similar incidents.
Following the plane collision, twelve passengers on the flight reported serious injuries, with five of them being transported to the hospital. One of the aircraft’s engines also caught fire during the incident.
