Ryanair passenger ‘almost sucked out of broken window at 20,000 ft’

A Ryanair passenger narrowly escaped being sucked out of a plane after debris from a failing engine reportedly broke one of the aircraft’s windows. Witnesses told German and Greek media outlets the man, believed to be a Serbian national in his 60s, was pulled head-first out of the shattered cabin window and only saved after his wife grabbed his legs and other passengers joined forces to prevent him from falling out of the cabin. In a statement, Ryanair said a flight from Thessaloniki, in northern Greece to Memmingen, in southern Germany on Friday morning had returned to Greece shortly after take-off “when a passenger window dislodged inflight”. It added: “The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.” Video footage shot by passengers on board the aircraft showed the remnants of a shattered window on the right hand side of the cabin with oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling – testimony to the rapid depressurisation of the 18-year-old Boeing 737 aircraft shortly after it took off at 6.01am local time. The plane was flying at 15,000ft when passengers said they heard a loud bang before the aircraft started to descend, spending 30 minutes burning fuel before it landed safely at Thessaloniki Airport. The jet was being operated by Malta Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ryanair whose aircraft have the same livery as the Irish parent company. Multiple outlets reported that an engine failure was responsible for the noise and the window breaking, although this has not been confirmed by the investigating authorities. Ryanair, which has not suffered a major accident in its history and ranks among the safest carriers, has not commented on reports of engine failure. Flight tracking data showed the incident took place just hours after the same aircraft – registered as 9H-QEU – had suffered an earlier diversion back to Thessaloniki airport on a flight to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo late on Thursday. Multiple outlets reported that an engine failure was responsible for the noise and the window breaking (Photo: Rthess.gr) The plane was airborne for about 70 minutes after leaving the Greek airport, landing back shortly before midnight. Ryanair told The i Paper that the diversion was due to a disruptive passenger and unrelated to the incident on Friday morning. A spokesperson said: “This flight returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take off after a passenger became disruptive onboard. Crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon return to Thessaloniki Airport and removed this disruptive passenger, before the flight continued to Sarajevo.” Drama struck anew a few hours later when the same aircraft suffered the rare occurrence of a cabin window shattering. Passenger jet windows are fashioned from layers of clear acrylic or polycarbonate and designed to be immensely strong, withstanding weights of up to 22 tonnes. However, incidents such as the release of debris from a failing engine can cause catastrophic damage. In 2018, a woman passenger was killed when a dislodged fan blade from the engine on a Southwest Airlines flight from New York to Dallas, causing the destruction of the window adjacent to her. She died from injuries suffered as a result of being partially sucked out of the window space. Witnesses described the man on the Ryanair flight as having been dragged out of his seat and left stuck with his head outside the plane for several minutes, while fellow passengers attempted to save him. He was reportedly rushed to hospital suffering shock and friction burns from the icy air outside. Christina, a passenger on board the aircraft told Radio Thessaloniki that it appeared the man had been saved by the fact that he had not removed his seat belt. She said: “We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams… for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door. “The masks dropped and there was a strong smell. The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken off his seat belt.” The Boeing 737-8AS plane was delivered to Ryanair in 2008 and transferred to Malta Air in 2022. It is powered by engines made by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France’s Safran. The budget Irish airline said a replacement plane had been arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen, “which departed Thessaloniki at 9:53am local time this morning”.