Passengers on Frontier Airlines jet that hit and killed a pedestrian share their reaction

LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA) - Passengers on the Frontier Airlines jet that hit and killed a person on a runway in Denver Friday night are describing the chaos on board.

The plane caught fire after impact, causing panic in the cabin.

Frontier says all 224 passengers and seven crew members were safely evacuated using slides.

The Denver International Airport says 12 people suffered minor injuries, and five went to the hospital.

The plane was headed for Los Angeles when the incident happened.

Passengers who finally arrived in L.A. Saturday talked about the experience.

"So, we were on the flight. And there was suddenly like this jerk on the plane. And then, we were about to take off. I think our wheels left the ground. And then we immediately came back down. There was fire on the engine. There was lots of sparks that were happening. Immediately came to a stop. As soon as we saw the sparks on the flight, smoke filled the cabin completely. It was super hard to breathe. And then we were sitting there. They told us to wait there. Just to remain seated until for like [two to three] minutes, maybe four minutes. Then, they open up the exits, everyone, all of us left down the chutes. Then, we waited outside there on the grass outside the runway. This should have never happened. Someone has to be held accountable."

Nikil Thalanki, passenger

"When you find out what happened. It's pretty scary. Pretty sad. Ya know. Feel terrible for the pilot. So, but, we're alive. Nothing happened to us other than a minor inconvenience. We're alive. And that's the good thing, right? I thought a wheel got blown out is what it felt like to me. And then the smoke came. That was not fun. So but, we were pretty calm. There were a couple people that were really scared, but they calmed right down, so like I said it could have been so much worse."

Karen Moon, passenger

"The plane was taking off. We thought everything was smooth. I look to my left, look to my right, hear a boom. Look to my right, the engine is on fire. Like literally the engine is on fire. And smoke is coming in the cabin. I'm just calm down. Just holding it down for a sec. We slow down. Everyone's panicking. I'm just trying to relax as everyone's screaming. People are getting up. It was a little scary you know."

Franco Valera, passenger

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the person hit by the plane had deliberately scaled a perimeter fence and ran out onto a runway.

The person was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.