Man identified after dying by suicide on Denver airport runway, striking Frontier jet

A Colorado man who breached the perimeter fence at Denver International Airport late Friday and walked onto an active runway has been identified as 41-year-old Michael Mott, airport officials and the city’s chief medical examiner announced Tuesday.

Sterling McLaren, Denver’s chief medical examiner, ruled the manner of death a suicide. No note was recovered, and officials based their determination on the post-mortem examination. Denver police are continuing to investigate Mr. Mott’s motivations and are asking anyone who knew him to contact authorities. 

Frontier Flight 4345, an Airbus A321, was departing Denver en route to Los Angeles and carried 224 passengers and seven crew members when the collision occurred. Airport surveillance video released by officials shows a figure at a distance walking toward the runway with arms swaying, crossing at a slight angle before the plane speeds past. The footage appears to show the aircraft striking the individual, followed by an engine fire. 

Mr. Mott climbed over an 8-foot, TSA-approved perimeter fence topped with barbed wire at approximately 11:13 p.m. It took him approximately 15 seconds to jump the fence, and within two minutes, he was struck and killed. The runway where the incident occurred is roughly 2 miles from the terminal, surrounded by empty fields and cropland. 

Ground detection sensors triggered an alarm when Mr. Mott approached the fence, but security personnel spotted a herd of deer on cameras and did not initially see him. Phillip Washington, the chief executive of Denver International Airport, said the airport has 36 miles of fence line, closed-circuit television monitoring, security patrols and a ground-based radar system, but that Mr. Mott was still able to penetrate the perimeter.

“Given the short time period, we were not able to intervene and prevent this person from reaching the runway,” Mr. Washington said. 

The impact triggered an emergency inside the aircraft. Twelve people on board reported minor injuries, most sustained during the evacuation; five were transported to hospitals. The pilots aborted the takeoff after an engine fire ignited and smoke was reported in the cabin. Passengers evacuated onto the tarmac using emergency slides, with some expressing concern about being left on the runway in the cold as smoke built inside the plane.

Mr. Washington praised the pilots and crew for their response. “This incident could have been more serious, could have had more serious consequences, were it not for their swift action,” he said.

Airport officials said they are conducting an after-action review of perimeter security. “Safety is paramount in everything that we do,” Mr. Washington said, adding that the airport does not want its fence to be deadly and that a sufficiently motivated individual could likely find a way through regardless of fence height. 

No vehicle or bicycle was found near the entry point, and no suicide note has been located. Police have searched nearby farmland for any belongings or written materials and have not found anything. Public records show Mr. Mott had significant prior law enforcement contact in Colorado, including arrests and convictions spanning more than two decades. 

The National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Security Administration, the FAA and Denver police are all investigating the incident.