A man who was struck and killed by a Frontier Airlines jet as it took off from Denver International Airport had intentionally placed himself on the runway in an apparent suicide, according to investigators. The incident has raised urgent questions about how a person in crisis managed to breach multiple layers of airport security and reach an active runway before anyone noticed.
Officials have now identified the victim and outlined a sequence of events that began miles from the airport terminal and ended with a fatal collision that passengers initially experienced only as a sudden jolt during takeoff.
What happened
Authorities identified the man as 32-year-old Michael Ray Mott of Ohio, who died after being hit by a Frontier Airlines Airbus A321 as it accelerated for departure on a runway at Denver International Airport. Investigators said Mott had entered a secure area, made his way onto the airfield and lay down on the runway in the plane’s path, indicating that he intended to take his own life, according to airport authorities.
Before he reached the runway, Mott had been seen inside the airport’s perimeter fence. Security footage reviewed by investigators showed him climbing over a barbed-wire barrier and walking across the airfield toward the active runway, according to details described by airport security officials. He moved through an area that is supposed to be monitored by cameras and patrols, but no one intercepted him before the collision…