Man nearly sucked out of Ryanair flight window after engine debris strike

A Serbian tourist narrowly escaped being sucked out of a Ryanair flight window en route to Germany after a piece of engine debris struck and detached the pane mid-flight. The incident occurred on a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany.

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Most of us had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. There was a noise, like a tire bursting. We immediately realized there had been a decompression. There were screams … for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door.

Witnesses described hearing a noise like a "tire bursting," followed by a sudden decompression. "The masks dropped and there was a strong smell," one passenger recounted. "The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken off his seat belt."

Other passengers in the vicinity acted quickly to pull the man back into the safety of the cabin. The tourist sustained friction burns but was reported to be in good condition and was hospitalized following the flight's emergency return to Thessaloniki.

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The masks dropped and there was a strong smell. The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken off his seat belt.

Greek media reported the incident occurred over North Macedonia. Ryanair confirmed the flight "returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window detached during the flight." The airline provided a replacement aircraft for the remaining passengers. Aviation authorities, including the FAA and NTSB, are involved in the investigation, which will be led by North Macedonia as the country where the incident occurred.

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Ryanair said the flight “returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window detached during the flight. The aircraft landed normally and the passengers returned to the terminal.”