Frontier Jet Hits and Kills Person on Runway During Takeoff (Video)

Panic erupted aboard a packed Frontier Airlines flight Friday night after a person who breached security at Denver International Airport was struck and killed by a departing jet in a horrifying runway disaster that left passengers screaming and the aircraft engulfed in flames.

The terrifying incident unfolded just after 11 p.m. as Frontier Flight 4345 was accelerating down the runway for takeoff to Los Angeles with 231 people onboard. According to federal officials, the person had somehow managed to get past airport security barriers and run onto the active runway moments before impact.

Passengers say they had no idea what was happening until the aircraft suddenly jolted violently.

“We were already taking off and going really fast,” passenger Jose Cervantes told CBS News. “Then out of nowhere we felt this huge thud and heard an explosion.”

Cervantes, who was seated near the wing, said he looked outside and saw flames shooting from the engine.

“It sounded horrible,” he said. “The plane started swerving side to side and smoke started filling the cabin.”

The pilot immediately aborted takeoff and radioed air traffic control with a chilling message.

“We just hit somebody, we have an engine fire,” the pilot reportedly said in audio captured by air traffic recordings.

Federal investigators later confirmed the person on the runway was killed instantly. According to reports, the victim was “at least partially consumed” by one of the aircraft’s engines in the gruesome collision.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the person had climbed over a perimeter fence before racing onto the runway in what appears to have been a massive security breach at one of America’s busiest airports.

“The trespasser on the runway was then struck by Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 during takeoff at high speed,” Duffy wrote in a statement Saturday morning. “The pilot stopped takeoff procedures immediately.”

The aftermath quickly turned chaotic as emergency crews rushed to the scene. Denver firefighters extinguished a brief engine fire while terrified passengers were evacuated from the plane and bused back to the terminal.

At least 12 people were reportedly injured during the emergency evacuation, with five taken to hospitals for treatment.

The disturbing incident is already raising serious questions about airport security and whether major staffing shortages and budget cuts across transportation agencies are making critical infrastructure more vulnerable.

While Denver International Airport later claimed its perimeter fencing was “intact,” critics online questioned how someone could still gain access to an active runway area at a major U.S. airport without being stopped sooner.

The FAA and NTSB have both launched investigations into the deadly incident, while Runway 17L remains closed as investigators comb through the scene.

Frontier Airlines said it is cooperating fully with authorities as investigators work to piece together exactly how the horrifying breach unfolded.