A PERSON has died after being hit by a plane during take-off on a major airport runway.
The Frontier Airlines flight struck a person who was reportedly walking on the runway at Denver International Airport on Friday night.
The person was at least partially consumed by one of the engines causing a fire, an official confirmed to ABC News.
The pilot is heard on air traffic control reporting the incident: “Tower, Frontier 4345, we’re stopping on the runway.
“Uh, we just hit somebody… we have an engine fire”, he added, in recordings heard by ABC News.
As conditions escalated, the pilot said: “We’ve got smoke on the aircraft, we’re gonna evacuate on the runway”.
Over 200 passengers were forced to evacuate the flaming flight.
Passengers were then bussed to terminals by emergency crews.
Firefighters from the Denver fire Department rushed to the scene and extinguished the fire.
The Frontier Flight 4345 was aborted amidst the turmoil and rescheduled for Saturday morning.
The flight was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members and was due to land at Los Angeles International Airport at 12:16am.
At least one passenger has also suffered minor injuries, according to the outlet.
In a statement on Friday night, Frontier Airlines said: “As flight 4345 was departing this evening from Denver International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, the aircraft reportedly struck a pedestrian on the runway during takeoff.
“Smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.
“Passengers were then safely evacuated via slides as a matter of precaution.
“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.
“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities. We are deeply saddened by this event.”
Airport security were inspecting the east perimeter fence for gaps on Saturday morning.
The victim does not appear to be connected to works being carried out on a parallel runway, an official said.
Denver Police Department is assisting with a probe into the horror incident.
Cops said further information cannot be disclosed due to the active investigaiton.
