An airport trespasser who was dismembered by a jet engine after stepping out in front of the plane nearly killed everyone on board.
Michael Mott, 41, was sucked into the Frontier Flight’s engine at Denver International Airport on Friday.
He jumped the 8 ft fence and was on the tarmac for only two minutes when he was struck by the LA-bound plane which was travelling at 139mph.
His body parts were scattered around the runway, with the pilot telling passengers what had happened in disbelief.
He said: ‘I do have limbs on the runway. I believe the aircraft struck an individual.
‘There appear to be human remains on the runway.’
Some 224 people on the plane were evacuated after the engine caught on fire, with 12 people suffering minor injuries.
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Phillip Washington, the airport’s chief executive, said the 36-mile fence was found to be intact.
Ground detection sensors set off an alarm, with investigators believing it a deer.
Mr Washington said: ‘The camera view was alternating between the wildlife and the individual. Given the short time period, we were not able to intervene and prevent this person from reaching the runway.’
It is unclear how Mott reached the fence, as there was no vehicle in the surrounding area.
He was homeless at the time and had a history of criminal charges including trespassing and attempted murder.
No suicide note has been recovered, Denver Police Department Chief Ron Thomas said.
He said: ‘We are currently looking for any notes, computers, anything like that, trying to identify places where he most recently was.’
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