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Macedonia to investigate passenger nearly sucked from Ryanair flight
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Disasters & Emergencies

Macedonia to investigate passenger nearly sucked from Ryanair flight

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Macedonian authorities will lead the investigation into a Ryanair flight incident where a passenger was nearly sucked out of the plane after a window broke.
  • The incident occurred shortly after takeoff from Thessaloniki, Greece, when the right engine failed, potentially breaking the window and causing sudden decompression.
  • The flight returned safely to Thessaloniki, and the affected passenger received medical attention; international aviation rules dictate the country overflown leads the probe.

Macedonian authorities are taking the lead in investigating a terrifying mid-air incident aboard a Ryanair flight. The flight, en route from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, experienced a critical failure shortly after takeoff.

The plane's right engine malfunctioned during ascent over Macedonian airspace. Fragments from the engine are believed to have struck the fuselage, breaking a window. This caused a sudden decompression, and a passenger seated next to the damaged window was partially sucked out of the aircraft.

My husband was sitting next to it and half of his body ended up outside the plane.

— Wife of the affected passengerDescribing the terrifying moments when the window broke and her husband was pulled towards the opening.

Witnesses described scenes of panic as the passenger, identified as a Serbian national, was held back by his wife and other travelers. The seatbelt reportedly prevented him from being fully ejected. The passenger sustained shock and injuries from glass and friction.

Ryanair confirmed the flight's safe return to Thessaloniki. The investigation, coordinated by Macedonia under international aviation guidelines, will also involve U.S. authorities due to the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The findings will be released by Macedonian officials, shedding light on the sequence of events that led to this near-fatal incident.

The seatbelt prevented him from being ejected.

— WitnessesRecounting how the passenger was held inside the aircraft during the decompression event.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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