Ryanair Passenger Nearly Sucked Out Window After Engine Failure Over Greece

A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, was forced to return shortly after takeoff on July 10 due to a severe engine malfunction that caused a cabin window to shatter. A Serbian passenger narrowly escaped being sucked out of the aircraft when debris from the damaged engine broke through the window.

According to U.S. investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a fan blade detached from the engine, sending fragments that broke the window and damaged the plane's fuselage. The NTSB report indicates that bird remains were found in the engine, suggesting a potential bird strike during takeoff.

“

Most people were asleep, our eyes were closed. We heard a sound like a tire bursting... but very loud.

The 61-year-old Serbian passenger, Ljubiša Karović, sustained neck and shoulder injuries, as well as friction burns, before other passengers managed to pull him back into the Boeing 737-800 cabin. Passengers described hearing a loud bang, followed by the deployment of oxygen masks and a rapid loss of altitude, leading to panic.

Ryanair initially stated the plane returned to Thessaloniki after a "cabin window detached." However, the NTSB later clarified that the issue involved the right engine. The NTSB has admonished Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary for commenting on the investigation's focus on foreign object damage, stating that no possibilities have been ruled out and O'Leary was not authorized to speak on the matter.

“

We immediately knew we had lost pressure because we started losing altitude.