A Frontier Airlines aircraft bound for Los Angeles International Airport struck a person on the runway on Friday at Denver International Airport, according to an aviation source briefed on the incident, News.Az reports, citing ABC 7.

The Airbus A321 was accelerating for takeoff on runway 17L when it appeared to hit an individual who was walking on the runway, the source told ABC News.

The pilot immediately aborted the takeoff.

At least one passenger sustained a minor injury, the aviation source said.

Passengers were later evaluated as part of standard emergency procedures following an evacuation.

Air traffic control recordings captured the flight 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 said over radio communications.

When asked about the number of people on board, 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 requested an emergency evacuation.

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

Passengers were evacuated directly onto the runway and transported back to the terminal by bus, according to the aviation source.

Fire crews responded to the aircraft to extinguish an engine fire.

Authorities have not yet released details about the identity of the person on the runway or how they accessed the restricted area.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev