{"id":5398,"date":"2026-05-12T17:13:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5398"},"modified":"2026-05-12T17:13:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:13:24","slug":"man-killed-by-frontier-plane-at-denver-airport-died-by-suicide-medical-examiner-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5398","title":{"rendered":"Man killed by Frontier plane at Denver airport died by suicide, medical examiner says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DENVER \u2014 The pedestrian fatally struck by a Frontier Airlines plane at Denver International Airport on Friday died by suicide, according to the medical examiner.<\/p>\n

Read more Often-maligned \u2018mommy brain\u2019 isn\u2019t a bad thing, emerging research suggests<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Mott, 41, died from multiple blunt and sharp force injuries caused by the plane engine, Denver Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Sterling McLaren said in a Tuesday morning news conference at the airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a scientific investigation, we can\u2019t really know, really, what someone\u2019s intent was,\u201d McLaren said. \u201cThe best way to determine manner is to evaluate the totality of the investigation \u2014 scene findings, circumstances and history. Based on all of those findings together, we determined the manner of death to be suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fatal crash happened just before 11:20 p.m. Friday, minutes after Mott jumped the Denver airport\u2019s 8-foot security fence topped with barbed wire and walked onto a runway, airport officials said. The collision sparked an engine fire and created a 4,000-foot debris field, Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington said during Tuesday\u2019s news conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot think of a time when this has occurred,\u201d said Jeffrey Price, an aviation and aerospace science professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, who has worked in the industry for decades.<\/p>\n

Price said he can\u2019t remember another incident that rises to this level, calling it \u201cextraordinarily rare.\u201d The pedestrian strike has the potential to raise high-level questions about whether safety requirements should be updated at airports across the board, he said.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles-bound Frontier 4345 was accelerating for takeoff when it struck and killed Mott. The crash started an engine fire, and the 231 passengers and flight crew on board evacuated the plane via slides.<\/p>\n

Twelve people reported minor injuries from the evacuation, and paramedics took five to the hospital. As of Tuesday morning, four of the hospitalized passengers had been released.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration, Denver Police Department, Frontier Airlines and DIA are all participating in the crash investigation, airport officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafety is paramount in everything that we do,\u201d Washington said. \u201cIt is paramount in the aviation industry in general, and it is definitely paramount at DEN.\u201d<\/p>\n

A radar system on the fence detected ground movement and set off an alarm at 11:10 p.m. Friday, Washington said. When the operator on duty reviewed the alarm, they spotted a herd of deer outside the fence and did not see a trespasser, he said. The radar had detected both the animals and the man.<\/p>\n

Minutes after the alarm sounded, the airport was alerted that the pedestrian had been hit on a runway roughly 650 feet from the fence line, Washington said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cGiven the short time period, we were not able to intervene and prevent this person from reaching the runway,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A gulch between the fence line and the runway may have obscured Mott from the camera\u2019s view, Washington said. The Denver airport\u2019s security team will be working to ensure cameras have a clear line of sight in those areas.<\/p>\n

Washington said the airport has fielded questions in the days since the crash about why the security fence isn\u2019t electrified, and why razor wire hasn\u2019t replaced the barbed wire on top. The answer is simple \u2014 he doesn\u2019t want the fence to be deadly.<\/p>\n

Trespassers have hopped the fence before, but most have been dealt with quickly and efficiently, Washington said. He did not specify how many such breaches the airport has recorded.<\/p>\n

Federal investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are still gathering information about the emergency evacuation to determine whether an investigation is warranted. As of Tuesday morning, they had not yet decided on the investigation, NTSB spokesperson Sarah Sulick said.<\/p>\n

NTSB teams investigate civil aviation accidents with \u201csubstantial damage to an aircraft\u201d or \u201cserious injuries,\u201d Sulick said.<\/p>\n

Airport workers examined the perimeter fence after the incident and \u201cfound it to be intact,\u201d Washington said.<\/p>\n

Read more 2026 Grand Prix of Long Beach: Felix Rosenqvist leads qualifying<\/a><\/p>\n

DIA\u2019s perimeter fence spans roughly 36 miles, an unidentified spokesperson for the airport said. It appears that most of the property is surrounded by a chain-link fence with barbed wire laced across the top and slanted toward the outside borders, according to a Denver Post reporter\u2019s drive around the perimeter. Security officers monitor who is coming and going at traffic entry points, which are blocked by gates.<\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s airport has six runways, with the longest covering three miles. The pedestrian strike happened on runway 17L, one of the farthest from the terminal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing out there,\u201d Cary Grant, a retired United Airlines crew member and assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said of the remote runway. Grant flew out of Denver for 23 years.<\/p>\n

Grant could not recall another incident where a pedestrian had wandered onto a remote runway and been killed. Typically, people who are killed on runways are airport workers who mistakenly get in the way of a plane on a busy ramp, he said.<\/p>\n

Crashes and injuries are more common \u2014 though not routine \u2014 on taxiways and near the gate area, Price said. There are people towing planes, directing traffic and transporting luggage, a lot more moving parts, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe runways are such a protected environment at airports,\u201d Price said. \u201cEveryone knows you don\u2019t go out there without proper clearance.\u201d<\/p>\n

FAA requirements only specify that the airport must provide \u201csafeguards to prevent inadvertent entry to the movement area by unauthorized persons or vehicles\u201d and \u201creasonable protection of persons and property from aircraft blast,\u201d\u00a0according to the Code of Federal Regulations. TSA requirements are more extensive and are airport-specific.<\/p>\n

On average, perimeter fences are required to reach minimum heights of 6 to 8 feet with barbed wire at the top, Price said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s basically whatever TSA says it should be for that airport,\u201d Price said. \u201cDIA\u2019s required height is in their Airport Security Program, which is a protected document. I do know they meet the standard, though, or else TSA wouldn\u2019t allow it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Climbing the fence is not that difficult, Price said. It is designed as a deterrent and a delaying measure to stop people from accessing planes before airport officials can respond.<\/p>\n

Grant said he once was on board a United flight that hit a coyote on a DIA runway. Security fences are designed to prevent deer and other wildlife from accessing the airport grounds just as much as people, he said.<\/p>\n

Some airports exceed TSA\u2019s standards, but most simply meet the minimum requirements, Price said. Installing taller fencing around airports\u2019 miles-long perimeters is \u201cextraordinarily expensive\u201d compared to how infrequently incidents occur, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt simply does not happen often enough to justify the expense, at least not yet,\u201d Price said.<\/p>\n

Some people on board expressed concern about the evacuation, including being stuck in the plane for several minutes as smoke filled the cabin and being left on the tarmac in the cold once they were out. Videos posted to social media also showed passengers coming down the emergency slide with what looked to be their carry-on bags and backpacks.<\/p>\n

Pre-flight instructions from airplane crews always include a reminder to leave personal belongings behind during an evacuation, Grant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do people do? They grab their carry-on and head to the slides,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s where they get hurt. It slows the evacuation, and there\u2019s an increase in the likelihood of getting injured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deciding to evacuate is always a tough call, he said. Experience and research show that keeping people on an airplane often is the safest option.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crew has to use their best judgment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Washington called the actions of the Frontier pilot and crew \u201cexceptional.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could have been far worse,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are indebted to their professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more 2026 Grand Prix of Long Beach: Acura, Lexus break through in IMSA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pedestrian killed in crash at DIA identified as Michael Mott, 41.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMan killed by Frontier plane at Denver airport died by suicide, medical examiner says - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5398\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man killed by Frontier plane at Denver airport died by suicide, medical examiner says - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pedestrian killed in crash at DIA identified as Michael Mott, 41.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5398\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-12T17:13:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5398#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5398\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Man killed by Frontier plane at Denver airport died by suicide, medical examiner says\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-12T17:13:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5398\"},\"wordCount\":1324,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5398#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/4347a1048bb61c3769920e14ae4fdf43.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"National News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5398#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5398\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5398\",\"name\":\"Man killed by Frontier plane at Denver airport died by suicide, medical examiner says - 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