On Saturday, May 9, Denver International Airport erupted into chaos after a man scaled the perimeter fence, made a beeline for a runway, and was hit by a Frontier Airlines jet traveling at 139mph as it prepared for take-off.
It appears the man was sucked into the jet engine and, as you can probably guess, the results weren’t pretty. The impact ignited an engine fire, left passengers on board afraid for their lives, prompted an emergency evacuation, and, as per the pilots, left limbs and other human remains scattered across the runway.
NEW: The man who was struck by a Frontier Airlines jet preparing to take off from Denver International Airport had breached a perimeter fence just two minutes before being hit.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 9, 2026
Video footage shows the chaotic moment when the plane's engine caught fire.
12 people onboard the… pic.twitter.com/zXMDjw7nwy
As you might anticipate, identification of a man who’s gone through a running jet engine at 130mph comes with some difficulties. However, days later, he has finally been positively identified as 41-year-old Pueblo-native Michael Mott, and he doesn’t seem to have been a particularly great guy.
The New York Post has summarized his rap sheet, which includes over 20 arrests in Colorado beginning in 2002 when he was just 17. These include minor crimes like shoplifting and underage alcohol consumption, but it appears that by his twenties, he’d become a hardened criminal.
From criminal to meatloaf in 0.001 seconds
Michael Mott, a 41-year-old with 20 prior arrests including attempted murder, was identified as the man who walked in front of a Frontier plane in a near-disaster at an airport shortly after a recent arrest.pic.twitter.com/ajLfcBnfUu
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 12, 2026
In Feb. 2002, he was arrested by Cortez Police Department officers and charged with attempted murder using a gun. His lawyers successfully pleaded that down to second-degree assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon. That landed him with a six-year prison sentence, though it doesn’t appear he engaged in much self-reflection and rehabilitation, as while behind bars, he was charged with felony assault using a weapon.
In the years after being released, he added charges for domestic violence, menacing, assault, burglary, assault on a peace officer, DUI, hit-and-run, trespassing, fighting in public, violating protection orders, attempting to escape prison, and resisting arrest to his ever-growing rap sheet.
His most recent offense, on April 10 of this year, was for first-degree felony trespassing, damaging property, and resisting arrest. By this time, he was homeless and was booked into the El Paso County Jail, but was recently released for unknown reasons.
Mott doesn’t appear to have left any suicide note or told anyone his plans, so we can’t say whether he was actively trying to end his own life or if this is death by misadventure. But, frankly, walking onto a runway in the path of a jet engine coming at you at high speed perhaps suggests that his death was intentional.
It doesn’t sound like Mott will be missed by society at large. Ultimately, he died doing exactly what he’d been doing for the last two decades: needlessly endangering the public with his impulsive and violent actions. At least his last victim was only himself and not a plane full of innocent passengers.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please seek help. You can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit their website for support and resources.
