A Ryanair-Air Malta Boeing 737-800 experienced a window failure mid-flight over North Macedonia last week, with passenger Ljubisa Karović nearly being sucked out of the fuselage. The aircraft, departing Thessaloniki in Greece, experienced the incident at approximately 16,000 feet after the right engine failed. According to passenger accounts, debris from the engine damage struck the window, causing it to dislodge. The plane returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff.
Karović survived the harrowing incident due to several factors, including wearing his seatbelt and the physical dimensions of the aircraft window, which an adult body can partially block. Fellow passengers and his wife assisted in keeping him inside the cabin. According to fluid mechanics experts, the intense suction from pressure differential is relatively short-lived, subsiding once internal and external air pressures equalize. Karović sustained significant injuries including bleeding from the nose and mouth, hand damage, and friction burns, and is receiving hospital treatment.
Such incidents are extremely rare in aviation history but not without precedent. A 2018 Southwest Airlines flight saw passenger Jennifer Riordan partially sucked out through a broken window on a similar Boeing 737 model; despite being pulled back inside by other passengers, she died from her injuries. A 2024 Alaska Airlines incident involved an entire door panel blowing out of a Boeing 737-Max, though the adjacent seats were unoccupied. Pilots have come closest to being extracted through shattered cockpit windshields, with a 1990 British Airways pilot surviving 20 minutes partially outside the aircraft.
Experts note that passengers seated near windows without seatbelts face the highest risk, particularly those positioned close to engines where debris-related failures are more likely. Window incidents pose less catastrophic danger to modern, well-maintained aircraft than to older airframes, which may suffer additional structural failures from sudden decompression. Investigators continue examining the exact circumstances of the Ryanair incident, while safety experts have expressed concerns about quality control in increasingly outsourced aircraft manufacturing and maintenance operations.
Aviation safety recommendations emphasize wearing seatbelts, avoiding window seats, and following crew instructions. In the event of decompression, the immediate risk to others attempting assistance is reportedly low once initial pressure equalization occurs, though expert guidance should be prioritized over independent action.
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