Man Fatally Struck on Runway Is Identified

A man who got onto an active runway at Denver International Airport and was hit by a departing jet last week has been identified as 41-year-old Michael Mott, and officials say his death appears to be a suicide. Sterling McLaren, the Denver medical examiner, said Mott died after being drawn into the engine of a Frontier Airlines Airbus A321 as it sped up for takeoff to Los Angeles around 11:19pm Friday, reports NBC News. McLaren ruled the death to be a suicide, per the New York Times.

Security footage shows a person walking onto the runway before the plane passes through the frame and one engine erupts in flames. Airport CEO Phil Washington said an alarm had gone off minutes earlier, but the camera feed was toggling between a herd of deer and the trespasser, who was briefly obscured by terrain, including a gulch between the fence and runway. Washington said Mott cleared the 8-foot barbed-wire fence in about 15 seconds and reached the runway within roughly two minutes—too little time for staff to intervene.

No note or vehicle has been found. Twelve people were injured during the plane's emergency evacuation, and the NTSB is reviewing the procedure there.

• If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.