Frontier A321
Posted on 05/09/2026 5:16:47 AM PDT by V_TWIN
A Frontier Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles reportedly struck a person walking on the runway at Denver International Airport on Friday night, according to the airline.
The incident happened during takeoff at around 10:15 p.m.
In audio traffic control recordings, the pilot can be heard saying the engine caught fire and smoke was in the aircraft before telling ATC the plane had to be evacuated on the runway.
Out of precaution, the passengers used slides to evacuate, Frontier Airlines said in a statement.
"We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities," the Frontier statement read, in part. "We are deeply saddened by this event."
The Airbus A321 had 224 passengers and seven crew members on board, according to Frontier. It was scheduled to land at Los Angeles International Airport at 12:16 a.m., but it appears it had been rescheduled for Saturday morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbclosangeles.com ...
Well, I assume it was an immediate death.
Agreed. The plane did not Hit the tresspasser, he came too close to the front of the engines and was was sucked into the intake. Fan blades shattering and shooting everywhere. Some newly employed Mechanic will get the the job of hosing the tresspasser out of the engine and housing.
Frontier A321
Why haven’t plane manufacturers put a grille on the front of the intakes? I guess a person could be then stuck to the grille; but there should be some sort of release mechanism as long as the wheels are still in contact with the ground.
“Why haven’t plane manufacturers put a grille on the front of the intakes? I guess a person could be then stuck to the grille; but there should be some sort of release mechanism as long as the wheels are still in contact with the ground.”
To release, you would have to stop the engine. Not too smart on take off.
That's why it would have to have a sensor so that it would only release if the wheels were still on the ground. In this case, the intake of a body stopped the plane anyway, and set the engine on fire. I've heard the same about large birds being sucked in that can happen in the air.
A screen over the intake would cause too much of an air flow restriction.....not to mention disruption of the aerodynamics of the aircraft.
The facility where I used to work overhauled and tested turbine engines.
During testing a screen was used to mitigate foreign objects from being ingested....if Thatcher to happen it would mean many hours teardown, determining what parts were damaged and then replacing them.....all that would of course increase the cost.
Sure enough, on several occasions, a small piece of the screen assemby would dislodge and be immediately ingested.
When that happened it was always a very big and expensive deal.
Airline or airport employee, perhaps.
Ralph Nader has entered the chat
What parts of your test screen got loose?
I saw a video of either GE or Rolls Royce engines being tested.
They were throwing dead geese and chickens and whatever into a
running engine in a test lab.
I’ve heard of that.
IIRC, their learning curve was finding out that the birds had to be room temperature/fresh, not frozen.
Fasteners
New video
Footage shows a Frontier Airlines jet about to strike a trespasser during takeoff at Denver International Airport in Colorado
https://rumble.com/v79o2as-footage-shows-a-frontier-airlines-jet-about-to-strike-a-trespasser-during-t.html
Jet engines like that are designed to handle small birds. Bird bones are thin, hollow, and brittle so they are light enough for the bird to fly. Larger birds will still cause catastrophic damage. Think Miracle on the Hudson. No engine can eat a couple of Canada Geese and still function.
I have a very special interest in this event.
I flew out of Denver on Frontier about 2 to 3 hours before this happened. If that jackwagon chose to do his stunt just a few hours earlier I could have been on that plane.
The dude was ingested at about 127 knots. That is crazy close to rotation speed (typ 145 to 160kts). I am amazed the pilots were able to bring the aircraft to rest safely. I read runway 17L is 12,000ft long. Undoubtedly, that was a HUGE help. Reverse thrust from only 1 engine and pretty great brakes helped also I read.
Unreal.
I am an aerospace engineer and was already fed up with flying, but this kinda puts me over the top. With all the REAL ID, put your face in the camera, TSA BS....I think I’m done with commercial air travel.
Having been in aviation myself, I’ve seen my share of the results of birds strikes. (DoD in support of the Naval Aviation Warfighter)
As with here, it usually resulted in an engine fire.
The damage was always pretty much catastrophic, and those were just birds....I’m surprised this didn’t result in the engine being separated from the wing.
Thank goodness that wasn’t the case.
I haven’t flown since around 2018, and that was for work.
After all I’ve heard since then I don’t miss it much.
The Security Theatre Master Thespian never did had any clothes on did he?
That's the only thing that makes sense, but wow.
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