News summary produced by Claude AI
A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece to Memmingen, Germany experienced a critical incident on Friday when a cabin window became dislodged shortly after takeoff, resulting in rapid cabin decompression. The window failure caused a passenger to be partially sucked out of the aircraft, with his head and shoulders extending outside the fuselage while traveling at altitude.
Ljubisa Karović, 61, was held in place by his wife Svetlana Grković and two other passengers who managed to pull him back inside the cabin after approximately two minutes. According to Grković, her husband’s face was severely deformed and he sustained significant injuries including a badly damaged hand, burns, and facial trauma with blood pouring from his nose and mouth. She stated that she immediately reacted to the emergency by grabbing his legs, and that her husband’s seatbelt helped prevent him from being fully drawn out.
The aircraft, an 18-year-old Boeing 737-800 operated by Ryanair’s Malta Air subsidiary, was in the air for approximately ten minutes before the crew initiated an emergency return. Flight tracking data showed the aircraft dropped 9,000 feet during the incident. Ryanair confirmed the window dislodgement in a statement and noted that the aircraft landed normally with passengers returning to the terminal. One passenger received medical assistance on the ground.
Passengers reported hearing what sounded like an explosion and described extreme cabin decompression that made breathing difficult. A technical assessment by an adviser for the family suggests the incident may have originated from a failure in the aircraft’s right engine, with debris striking the window. However, investigators have not yet confirmed this assessment.
The investigation is being conducted by Greece’s Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority, with assistance from international aviation authorities including Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, given the aircraft’s US manufacture and the incident’s occurrence in North Macedonian airspace. Karović remains hospitalized while Grković reported experiencing psychological effects from the ordeal.