Transport Sec. Sean Duffy comes under fire for response to Frontier Airlines disaster
Phoebe Tonks
Featured Image Credit: Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has come under fire after breaking his silence on the deadly Frontier Airlines disaster at Denver International Airport.
In an X statement shortly after the tragedy took place, Duffy said a trespasser ‘breached airport security’ and deliberately scaled a perimeter fence before running onto the runway.
"The trespasser on the runway was then struck by Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 during takeoff at high speed. The pilot stopped takeoff procedures immediately," he wrote.
Duffy added that 12 people were hurt in the incident, with five of these being taken to the hospital. "No one should EVER trespass on an airport.”
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However, in his statement he made no reference to the death of the trespasser themselves, who was terrifyingly struck by the plane and killed instantly.
Reflecting on the incident online, many critics couldn’t quite understand how such a massive security breach had taken place in the first place.
"How the hell did they not stop him?" asked one person. "The rent a cops at the security gates couldn’t run him down?”
A second echoed the sentiment commenting: “National security issue. Why was this so easy for someone to accomplish?”
Meanwhile a third added: “That is very concerning. We’re subjected to TSA before boarding yet breaching airport grounds is possible. Both can’t happen at the same time.
Another person also questioned why it wasn’t being treated as an act of terrorism, writing: "The person jumped an exterior fence and aligned with the engine of a plane attempting to take off. That's attempting to sabotage a takeoff of a plane with 200+ souls on board.”
Not everyone was quite so convinced, however as they responded: "Just because someone is crazy doesn't make what they do terrorism," wrote another person. "Maybe wait for more facts?”
Meanwhile another person speculated that it could have been an attempt to end their life, rather than an active attempt to harm others.
In any case, the security breach has raised concerns about how easy it was to bypass, and will likely lead to Duffy facing further questions in the future of how best to respond to these challenges.
Late last night, a trespasser breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) May 9, 2026
The trespasser on the runway was then struck by Frontier Airlines Flight 4345 during takeoff at high speed. The pilot stopped… https://t.co/x2oVY1b0AH
Tragedy struck Friday’s flight, which was due to leave Denver International Airport and head to Los Angeles, at around 11:19 p.m local time, when reports emerged that an aircraft had ‘struck a pedestrian during takeoff.’
The dead person has not been identified but is believed to be an airport employee who was on site for less than two minutes before the fatal incident happened.
"We’re stopping on the runway," the pilot of the plane told the control tower at one point. "We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
231 people were reportedly onboard the aircraft at the time of the collision, which occurred when the plane hit a pedestrian that ‘was walking across the runway’.
Frontier Airlines said in a statement that ‘smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.’ The plane, an Airbus A321, ‘was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,’ the airline said.
All 231 souls on board were immediately evacuated via slides and transported to the nearest terminal.
A full investigation is now in progress to explore the circumstances surrounding the fatal security breach.