Ryanair Passenger Pulled Back Through Dislodged Window

A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Germany turned into a fight for survival last week when a loud bang was followed by a cabin window coming loose. Ljubisa Karovic, 61, who was sitting beside the window, began to be sucked out of the aircraft before his wife, Svetlana Maksimovic, and other passengers managed to pull him back inside.

“I've never heard anything louder in my life before”, Maksimovic told Reuters. She said that her husband's head and right arm were hanging outside the aircraft.

Greek media and airport sources reported that a piece of the engine had most likely broken off and struck the window early in the flight, causing the cabin to depressurize. Boeing is assisting the investigation led by North Macedonia, over which the incident occurred. The US National Transportation Safety Board and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency are also involved, while a Greek prosecutor and Greek air accident investigators have opened separate inquiries.

Karovic is being treated at a hospital in Thessaloniki for severe neck and arm injuries. His wife said that after he was pulled back into the cabin, his face was disfigured, there was blood everywhere and his ears, eyes and nose were badly injured.

Ryanair confirmed that a window had become dislodged during the flight but declined to comment further while the incident remains under formal investigation.

(Reuters, bak)