Frontier Airlines scolded a passenger for not taking their carry-on bags with them as they evacuated down the slide of the plane that aborted takeoff in Denver after hitting someone on the runway.
Passengers frequently take their bags with them in an evacuation, even though it slows everyone down getting off the aircraft and potentially puts lives at risk.
- They may be acting out of instinct
- Or just afraid they won’t get their belongings back
You can see that many passengers brought their bags off that Frontier flight late Friday night, after the aircraft came to a stop and its engine briefly caught fire after ingesting the person who was standing in the way.
🚨#BREAKING: Watch as a Frontier Airlines aircraft forced to make an emergency after a pedestrian on the runway was struck and sucked into one of the jet’s engines⁰⁰ 📌#Denver | #Colorado
Watch as horrifying footage from earlier this morning shows the moment Frontier Flight… pic.twitter.com/jvaWjzvMey
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) May 9, 2026
Here’s a frustrated passenger on that flight – they ‘did the right thing’ but they’re being ‘punished for it’. They’re without their stuff, while everyone who behaved selfishly has theirs.
I was there and I didn't take anything but Frontier has yet to find my bags that were in the cabin. I had important stuff in there. So even if I had to do it again I wouldn't take my bags but I would appreciate not being punished for doing the right thing. pic.twitter.com/lCLiyFUVfT
— Self Generated (@SelfGenPodcast) May 10, 2026
And one passenger onboard shares their full experience from the evacuation – they were traveling with their lap infant, didn’t take their bags and asked other passengers on board not to take theirs either. They just wanted away from danger as quickly as possible with their baby!
But this meant they had no diapers for changing, no bottles for feeding, and no supplies. And they’re still trying to get their belongings back. They relay that a Frontier Airlines customer service agent scolded them for failing to take their bags with them off the aircraft – that’s why they’re stuck without the supplies that they need. They were seated in 5C on flight 4345:
When the crash happened, my daughter had just fallen asleep on my chest, and I had dozed off. There was a big impact, and then some loud booms as the engine ignited. My first thought was “oh my god we are in a crash” and then, “Okay, we are on the ground. We are not falling. My baby is okay. We just need to get off the plane.”
I am a middle school teacher and busted out my most aggressive teacher voice (and maybe some expletives..)at the people in the first few rows that were trying to get their things out of the overhead bin. As we got to the front I asked the flight attendant how to slide with my baby. She said to put her on my lap and jump, so we did. The slide is so fast, and the flight crew were telling us to help each other to not skid to the ground.
Without their bags, they had no access to the things they needed for their baby, while everyone else passed the time in the airport on the laptops and with the rest of their belongings.
[M]y daughter and I had to fight to receive diapers, wipes, and formula in the airport while we waited for updates. She had to sit in a dirty diaper for hours as the Denver crew searched the airport, and ended up finding a few old looking diapers that we used. It took longer to get wipes, formula, and we never got a baby bottle, though they found us an old sippy cup we washed and used.
They “waited in line for hours” to provide information on their bags that they left behind. They don’t have their “my car and house keys, wallet and ID, medication, car seat, and diaper bag.” They’ve had to come out of pocket to buy the things they’ve needed.
So far they’ve spent four hours with “9 different customer service agents and supervisors” trying to get “any sort of response” about their belongings. And that’s when they were scolded for failing to take their items with them off the aircraft.
[A]n agent told me it was my fault I didn’t take my personal items with me off the emergency slide (as I was directed), and had to really fight to not be charged hundreds of dollars for a new flight home once we get our things.
I was finally given a number to call that was supposed to be specifically for us passengers to get help, however the number was never set up. It was just a bunch of ads that eventually disconnected.
They’re grateful they’re ok, and that their baby is ok. They had positive things to say about the pilot and the rest of the crew. But trying to reschedule their flight home with Frontier?
I booked this with my GoWild pass, the only flights she would allow me to rebook home are GoWild flights…The best she said she could do is refund me for the $15 I technically spent on that leg of travel, and I could book a new seat for full price. If I “refused” to accept the refund, she threatened to document it so I would not be able to receive further help.
They’re alive. Everyone onboard the aircraft is alive. Leave your bags behind. Even if you agree with that, if you’re flying Frontier when something like this happens, you might give that admonition a second thought?
This is the most important learning from this. Yes, it’s selfish, but you have to change incentives to change behavior.
If passengers KNEW they would get their stuff back as soon as humanly possible or that the airline would absolutely go above and beyond to take care of everything including medications, IDs, lost keys, etc, the risk of shaming would outweigh the inconvenience.
As it is, listen to what people say in the evacuation videos as they justify grabbing their underseat bags. They are not wrong.
Safety will require sustained federal mandates to airlines to provide real assistance and timely bag recovery (here, why not 1 hour?)
My takeaway from this, I need to make sure my carryon and briefcase are all properly tagged in the future. Something I don’t always do. (I have find my tags in them though) If I am leaving my items behind I need to make sure they are getting returned to me.
Uh oh… @Denver Refugee… see what you’ve done!
“Won’t someone please think of the children!” — Moe Szyslak.
@Leonard – I see a brisk market in the not-too-distant future for cargo vests among savvier fliers.