Frontier Plane Strikes Pedestrian on Denver Runway Before Takeoff

The impact shredded the person in the engine, producing a loud explosion that passengers likened to a bomb. The aircraft pitched upward before the pilot brought the nose down and brought the plane to a stop on the runway. John Anthens, 56, of Nebraska, was traveling with his two sons for a Pokémon Go tournament at the LA Convention Center.

Anthens said he thought the family would die when the engine blew up. "When the engine blew up, I thought, ‘oh sh*t, we’re all going to die," John Anthens said. Anthens, who was looking out the window, saw human legs spinning in the engine after fire erupted, according to his son Jacob.

Thick black smoke quickly filled the cabin as passengers screamed and children cried. "I would say the majority of people didn’t know what was going on or what happened, but there was just a big explosion, and obviously, you hear a big explosion, people start screaming, kids are crying, and it was horrific," John Anthens said.

Flight attendants ordered everyone to remain seated. The family remained in their seats choking on the smoke until they were able to exit safely. Anthens took photos of the bloody aftermath in the engine while his younger son helped other passengers slide off the plane.

None of the family slept much that night. They canceled their first-ever trip to California because of the trauma and are driving an 8-hour rental car route back to Omaha, Nebraska instead of flying again. Frontier offered Anthens a $500 flight credit, which he said would be of little use after the experience.

Jacob, a highly ranked Pokémon Go player, had hoped to advance far in the tournament at the LA Convention Center. "I thought I had a real chance to make some noise there," Jacob said. "We were going to go have some fun, and never got that opportunity," John Anthens added.

The family planned a whitewater rafting detour on the drive home to take their minds off the incident. "[Need to] get our mind on something other than somebody blowing up in an engine," John Anthens said. CBS News reported that the Frontier plane struck a pedestrian on the runway in Denver before takeoff.

In a separate development, Spanish authorities prepared port facilities in Tenerife for the arrival of the MV Hondius cruise ship, which has been struck by a hantavirus outbreak. m. m. local time on Sunday. About 80 passengers will be evacuated by Zodiac boats and immediately repatriated by plane under an operation overseen by the World Health Organization.

Three people who were aboard the ship have died from the virus. More than 100 passengers remain aboard, including 17 Americans. The World Health Organization is monitoring their health and has stated the overall public health risk remains low. A CDC official said there are no plans for mandatory quarantine of the American passengers upon arrival in Nebraska.

None of the 17 Americans had tested positive for hantavirus as of Saturday. Passengers will be evaluated upon arrival and may opt to monitor for symptoms for 42 days at home while staying in touch with state or local health departments. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska detailed plans for disembarkation by nationality using protective equipment and dedicated transport.

“We are not quarantining anybody.”

The hantavirus coverage appeared in live updates from ABC News and reporting by Le Monde on preparations in the Canary Islands.