Officials have identified a man who was walking in front of the LA-bound Frontier plane when it took off and its engine was hit, bursting into flames, forcing an emergency evacuation and injuring dozens of passengers.
Michael Mott, 41, died of multiple injuries in a crash on the Denver Airport runway Friday night, according to Denver Chief Medical Examiner Sterling McLaren. The manner of his death is said to be suicide, but officials have not yet received a letter, he said.
Mott has been arrested 20 times in the state of Colorado on violent charges including attempted murder, domestic violence and assault, according to court records obtained by the California Post. Most recently, he was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, vandalism and resisting arrest in Colorado Springs, the Post reported.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas did not discuss Mott's extensive criminal history at a news conference Tuesday morning but noted that investigators were reaching out to his family and those who knew him for more information about his motives. Thomas asked anyone who had contact with Mott before the incident to contact the department.
Surveillance camera footage captured Mott scaling an 8-foot barbed-wire fence at the airport's edge in just 15 seconds, then walking across the runway.
Two minutes later, the plane's right engine traveling at 150 mph struck Mott, bursting into flames on impact.
“Due to the short amount of time, we were unable to intervene and prevent this individual from reaching the runway,” said airport CEO Phillip Washington at a press conference on Tuesday.
Mott set off the guard's alarm when he jumped the fence, but the operator on duty mistook the cause of the alert for a herd of deer just outside the fence.
“The camera's view was alternating between wildlife and man,” Washington explained. “There are canals in the area, so the person could not be seen for a while.”
Washington said the airport's 36-mile long fence meets FAA requirements and noted that there are multiple layers of security to prevent breaches from occurring. This includes security and police surveillance, CCTV cameras and a radar system that records video and thermal images.
Still, ensuring the full security of the 53 square kilometer airport, the second largest in the world, is a challenging task, he admitted.
Although some people asked why the phone was not struck by lightning, Washington said the department did not want it to kill people. And even if the airport were to raise the height of the fence, that might not stop a “motivated individual” from raising it, he added.
Washington and Thomas noted that the airport and the Police Department will be working together to continue to investigate the incident and evaluate the perimeter security system.
Separately, the National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information about the Frontier flight to determine whether the injuries were serious enough for a safety investigation. 12 people were injured in the fire, five of them were taken to hospitals for treatment, according to the airport spokesperson.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
