Tragic Incident: Pedestrian Struck by Frontier Airlines Plane on Denver Runway

A Frontier Airlines aircraft en route to Los Angeles International Airport encountered an unexpected incident on a Denver International Airport runway Friday, according to an aviation source who spoke with ABC News.

The Airbus A321 was in the process of taking off from runway 17L when it reportedly collided with a person who was on the runway, as detailed by the source to ABC News.

In response, the pilot promptly aborted the takeoff to ensure safety.

The incident led to at least one passenger experiencing a minor injury, the source further revealed.

Following the event, passengers underwent evaluations as part of the standard protocol during an evacuation.

Air traffic control recordings from ATC captured the crew reporting the emergency to the tower.

“Tower, Frontier 4345, we’re stopping on the runway. Uh, we just hit somebody… we have an engine fire,” the pilot is heard on the recordings.

When asked how many people were aboard, the pilot responded, “We have 231 souls on board… There was an individual walking across the runway.”

Moments later, the pilot reported worsening conditions and the need to evacuate.

“We’ve got smoke on the aircraft, we’re gonna evacuate on the runway,” the pilot said.

Passengers were evacuated on the runway and are being bused back to the terminal, according to the aviation source.

Fire crews were dispatched to the aircraft to extinguish the engine fire.

Authorities have not released additional information about the person on the runway or the circumstances that led to the incident.