The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is continuing its investigation into the deadly incident that occurred at Denver International Airport (DEN) on Friday, May 8, where a person was struck on the runway. The individual was ingested into one of the Airbus A321neo’s engines, and the captain was able to bring the aircraft to a complete stop before the directive was given for everyone to evacuate the aircraft.

During the evacuation of the flight, there have been reports that passengers ignored some crew instructions and were captured on the runway holding onto their carry-on bags. Of the passengers on board the flight, 12 received minor injuries, and five were taken to local hospitals in the area.

Details Are Emerging About The Aircraft Evacuation

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According to a report by the Associated Press, there have been concerns raised around the evacuation of the aircraft, which includes the several minutes that passengers were stuck onboard while smoke filled the cabin. Once the doors were open, videos showed passengers bringing personal items, which could be their carry-on bags.

Simple Flying reached out to Frontier Airlines for validation of these claims; however, an airline spokesperson was not immediately available. Widely reported is that several passengers ignored flight attendant and crew instructions and, instead of leaving their personal belongings behind, decided to take these with them off the aircraft. NTSB spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick provided the following statement:

“We are gathering information about the emergency evacuation to determine if it meets criteria for a safety investigation.”

A Tragic Ending On A Denver Airport Runway

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On the evening of May 8, Denver-based ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines flight 4345 was attempting to take off from the airport’s Runway 17L. As the aircraft struck the airport trespasser, half of their body was ingested into the engine, causing a brief engine fire. This led to smoke entering the cabin of the plane, and the flight then came to a stop on the runway.

There were 224 occupants onboard the aircraft, and they were evacuated from the plane after several minutes. Emergency crews met the plane and put out the fire, and all stranded passengers were then transported by bus to the airport terminal. According to the New York Post, most passengers had no clue what had actually occurred, while there are other reports that a passenger saw the legs of the individual spinning around in the engine.

Frontier flight F9 4345 was a non-stop service operated by one of the airline’s Airbus A321neo aircraft (registration N646FR), and was set to depart from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The incident occurred at around 11:19 local time.

Why You Should Not Retrieve Your Carry-On Bags During An Emergency Evacuation

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Retrieving your carry-on bags when you are in an emergency evacuation can pose several severe safety risks, including blocking exits and increasing the potential for death or injury. The NTSB and other aviation authorities around the world have repeatedly warned that if passengers decide to retrieve their luggage, it directly slows down the evacuation process past the 90-second requirement. The 90-second evacuation rule is mandated to all airlines that require a full passenger aircraft to be vacated in less than 90 seconds. This rule is implemented to prevent fatalities from fire and/or smoke.

The amount of time that it can take to retrieve luggage can slow down the evacuation and significantly increase the overall time to empty all occupants of an aircraft. Additionally, the moving of luggage into aisles or exits can block the exit path for other passengers, and could result in it being more difficult for others to escape the aircraft.

Depending on the type of carry-on bags, those that include wheels, straps, or hard edges can cause damage to the emergency slides, including punctures, which then render the slide unusable. Finally, in high panic situations, the opening of overhead bins could lead to bags falling on passengers, causing injury.