Passengers and crew sue Denver airport over fatal runway strike

A lawsuit filed in Denver District Court says Denver International Airport did not do enough to stop a man from reaching a runway and stepping into the path of a Frontier Airlines jet accelerating for takeoff earlier this year.

The complaint was filed on behalf of passengers and several crew members on the May 8 flight. It names the airport and two other businesses as responsible for physical and mental injuries, according to the filing.

The plaintiffs cite smoke and engine fumes, harm from the strike, the aborted takeoff, and the evacuation of the aircraft. The document also describes severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress; some plaintiffs have not flown since and are described as too traumatised to board a plane again.

The Denver Post reported the suit on Tuesday. It lists 17 claims against the airport, including one for wrongful death in connection with passenger Silva Ermelinda De Cervantes, who died on May 16. The complaint attributes her death to smoke inhalation and exposure to toxic fumes. The Post confirmed the date of death, but the Weld County Coroner's Office would not release the cause.

De Cervantes's estate is among those represented in the case, along with the passengers and crew. The plaintiffs are asking for unspecified damages and have not put forward a total figure.

According to the complaint, Michael Mott, 41, climbed an eight-foot perimeter fence topped with barbed wire on the airport's outer boundary and then made his way toward a runway.