Passenger 'nearly sucked out of window mid-air' on Ryanair-owned plane

A passenger narrowly escaped being sucked out of a plane window mid-flight after the unit dislodged over the Mediterranean. The man, described as a Serbian citizen in his 60s, was reportedly left hanging headfirst out of the window for several minutes on the Malta Air flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany.

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The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.

Other passengers managed to pull the man back inside the cabin. The incident occurred shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight. Ryanair confirmed the aircraft landed normally in Thessaloniki, and passengers were returned to the terminal. A replacement aircraft was arranged to continue their journey.

Witnesses recounted hearing a loud bang, followed by the window breaking and oxygen masks deploying from the ceiling. Some passengers speculated that pieces of the jet's engine may have caused the window to shatter, though Ryanair has not commented on this theory. The aircraft, believed to be 18 years old, was operated by Ryanair's subsidiary, Malta Air.

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We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams... for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door.

The Irish Aviation Authority stated it is aware of the incident and will assist aviation safety investigation authorities in Greece and Malta. This event echoes a tragic 2018 incident on a Southwest Airlines flight where a passenger died after being partially sucked out of a window due to engine debris.

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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.