News summary produced by Claude AI
A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen experienced a serious incident on Friday when a cabin window dislodged mid-flight, causing rapid decompression of the aircraft. A male passenger, identified as Ljubisa Karović, was partially pulled toward the opening, with his head and shoulders extending outside the fuselage. His wife, Svetlana Grković, held his legs while two additional passengers assisted in pulling him back inside after approximately two minutes.
The aircraft lost cabin pressure following the window failure, prompting emergency measures. The flight had been airborne for roughly 10 minutes before the incident occurred, at which point the plane descended approximately 9,000 feet. Passengers reported hearing a loud sound similar to an explosion, and the decompression was severe enough that multiple individuals struggled to breathe. The pilot returned the aircraft to Thessaloniki, where it landed without further incident and passengers disembarked normally.
Karović sustained substantial injuries including facial deformation, blood loss, burns, and hand trauma. He remains hospitalized and experiences psychological distress related to the event, including difficulty remembering details of the incident and auditory sensitivity to aircraft-related sounds. His wife also reported significant psychological impact, experiencing intrusive memories and symptoms of anxiety in enclosed spaces.
A technical assessment suggested the incident originated from a failure in the aircraft’s right engine, with debris subsequently striking and shattering the window. The aircraft involved was an 18-year-old Boeing 737-800 operated by Malta Air, a Ryanair subsidiary. Due to the aircraft’s US origin and the incident’s occurrence in North Macedonian airspace, the investigation involves multiple international aviation authorities, including Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority has assumed primary responsibility for the inquiry.