Ryanair has announced it will contest claims that passenger Ljubisa Karović had any part of his body exit through a shattered window on a Boeing 737 aircraft. The 61-year-old Serbian businessman sustained severe injuries when the window beside his seat broke during a flight from Greece to Germany in July. According to Karović’s legal representation, the sudden loss of cabin pressure caused his head and right arm to be pulled through the opening before he was retrieved.
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary stated at the airline’s annual general meeting in Dublin on Thursday that while Karović was “certainly sucked towards the window,” the airline disputes he actually exited it. O’Leary emphasized that no part of the passenger’s body breached the fuselage, noting that Karović remained “belted into the seat.” The executive indicated the airline would challenge this account upon completion of the investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the accident investigation, with participation from Boeing, engine manufacturer GE, and Ryanair. Karović’s account, shared with media outlets, indicated his seatbelt prevented him from being pulled entirely from the aircraft as he lost consciousness. His wife reported witnessing him positioned “half in and out of the plane” and credited an unidentified male passenger with helping retrieve him and blocking the window opening with a suitcase after a bag was sucked away.
The incident’s disclosure came during Ryanair’s shareholder meeting, where approximately one-third of shareholders voted against O’Leary’s compensation package valued at €150m, though the deal ultimately received approval by roughly a two-to-one margin. The executive also addressed recent operational disruptions, disputing statements made by National Air Traffic Services regarding a system failure that impacted UK aviation on Tuesday and resulted in over 2,100 flight cancellations.
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