Person Struck and Killed on Runway at Denver Airport, Prompting Frontier Flight Takeoff Abort and Evacuation

Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 aborted its takeoff at Denver International Airport last week after striking and killing a person on the runway. Smoke was reported in the cabin and an evacuation was ordered as a matter of precaution, according to airline and airport officials. Twelve passengers reported minor injuries after the evacuation, and the incident remains under investigation.

Passengers stopped to retrieve their belongings during the evacuation. Videos emerged of flight attendants pleading with passengers to leave all belongings. Another video appeared to show people coming down the emergency slide with their luggage.

Ed Galea, director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich, told Newsweek this behavior has been a big problem for a long time. “This Frontier accident is no exception,” he said. Most people who grab luggage during emergencies do not see themselves as taking a serious risk.

“People think, ‘It’s just going to be a second. I can just retrieve this bag,’” Galea said. In an emergency involving smoke or fire those seconds are critical not just for the person retrieving the bag but for everyone behind them.

“You’re not delaying one person. ” Galea said that delaying an evacuation by a few seconds can cost lives. A 2024 FAA-funded study led by his team used evacuation simulation software to model passengers stopping to retrieve carry-on luggage in narrow-body aircraft similar to Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 jets.

When 25 percent of passengers retrieved luggage, delays left an average of three additional people still onboard after 90 seconds. “That’s potentially three fatalities,” Galea said. After the 2019 Aeroflot Superjet fire at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, investigators concluded that passengers retrieving hand luggage likely slowed evacuation and worsened the outcome.

Forty passengers and one flight attendant died in the post-crash fire. On Sunday the National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information to determine whether the evacuation of Frontier Flight 4345 warranted a formal safety investigation. Galea believes the behavior of retrieving luggage has become more common over time, driven in part by changes in how people travel.

“People are carrying more and more luggage into the cabin,” he said, citing airline fees, time pressures and fear of lost bags. He said that if it is truly essential passengers should keep items such as passports or medication on their person in a small bag under the seat.

Galea believes that airlines may need to consider stronger measures ranging from tighter baggage rules to technical solutions that prevent access to overhead bins during emergencies. “One option is to lock overhead bins during takeoff and landing,” he said. He said that if people die and it is shown others delayed evacuation by retrieving luggage people could be sued.

Newsweek reported the details of the Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 evacuation and Galea’s analysis of passenger behavior during emergencies.