Passengers on the Frontier flight that hit a person broke a key rule of airline evacuations

May 12, 2026 3oliver

Passengers on the Frontier flight that hit a person broke a key rule of airline evacuations

Pete Syme

Mon, May 11, 2026 at 4:09 PM UTC

3 min read

A Frontier Airlines plane struck a person on the runway at Denver Airport on Friday.
Videos show passengers ignoring crew instructions to leave their bags on board.
It’s the latest case of passengers delaying an evacuation by taking their luggage with them.

Some Frontier Airlines passengers gave a good reminder of one of the key safety rules if you’re ever evacuated from a plane: leave your luggage behind.

Late on Friday, a Frontier airplane struck a person on the runway as it was taking off from Denver International Airport.

Videos and images shared from both inside and outside the airplane show the commotion as some passengers brought their luggage with them, with some even carrying it down emergency slides as they evacuated.

In footage taken by a passenger who had already evacuated the plane, several people can be seen coming down an emergency slide holding backpacks and duffel bags.

In another video shared online and reported by a number of aviation news outlets, attendants can be heard pleading with passengers to “Please leave all belongings,” and adding, “Your lives are more important.”

Business Insider has not independently verified that video, which includes the person filming leaving the plane and going down the emergency slide.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement to the Associated Press that it was looking into whether it would investigate the evacuation.

“We are gathering information about the emergency evacuation to determine if it meets criteria for a safety investigation,” spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick said.

When contacted by Business Insider, the NTSB did not comment further.

A key piece of safety advice

During safety briefings, passengers are told to leave their belongings behind because it slows down the evacuation process.

Aviation safety rules say that airplanes with more than 44 seats need to be able to be evacuated within 90 seconds. However, it can take minutes longer if people stop to retrieve items from overhead bins or underneath their seats.

The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.

Frontier said there were reports of smoke in the cabin and that the pilots decided to abort takeoff, with passengers “safely evacuated via slides as a matter of precaution.”

The video of the incident also shows the crew shouting at passengers to move away from the aircraft after evacuating, even as some people walk closer to the jet.

Flight attendants are classified as first responders and undergo at least four weeks of training, learning about first aid, security threats, prompt evacuations, and more.

However, the Frontier flight is far from the first time that passengers have ignored crew instructions and slowed down an evacuation by taking their bags with them.

In 2019, an Aeroflot plane caught fire after an emergency landing in Moscow, and 41 of the 78 people on board died. Experts criticized passengers who evacuated with their carry-on luggage, suggesting it may have contributed to the death count.

When a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 caught fire after colliding with another plane in January 2024, all 379 people on board survived after evacuating in time. The airline’s in-flight safety video was praised for its clear evacuation instructions and for reminding passengers to leave their bags behind.

Last September, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety alert reminding airlines to emphasize that passengers should not retrieve their belongings.

This can “significantly impede evacuation procedures and increase the potential for injury or fatality,” it said.

The FAA suggested that airlines ensure safety briefings instruct passengers to leave all belongings behind, and display visual content in airport terminals.

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