A 61-year-old Serbian man was reportedly almost sucked out of a shattered window on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany, with his wife saving him by holding onto his legs. The incident occurred on flight FR1879, operated by Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air, which was scheduled to fly from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen near Munich, Germany, on Friday.
Engine Failure Causes Window Shattering
According to local reports, an engine failure caused parts to smash the acrylic window, resulting in the man being lifted out of his seat into the plane's slipstream. He hung headfirst out of the window until his wife grabbed his legs and pulled him back inside. Michalis Giannakos, a trade union official, told Greek news website Newsit that the man was taken to hospital suffering from shock and friction burns from the freezing wind outside the aircraft.
Emergency Descent and Medical Response
Data from FlightRadar24 indicates the flight reached 16,000 feet before descending back to Thessaloniki airport, having been airborne for just over an hour. The cabin depressurised, causing oxygen masks to drop. The president of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees described the incident as 'almost a tragedy.'
A Ryanair spokesperson stated: 'A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged inflight. The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki. In order to minimise any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen, which departed Thessaloniki at 9.53am local time this morning.'
Similar Incident in 2024
The event echoes a 2024 incident where a cabin panel on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 blew out mid-flight, carrying over 170 passengers and six crew. That plane made an emergency landing. One passenger recalled seeing a boy's shirt ripped off and sucked out as his mother held him, while two seats next to the hole were unoccupied. Another passenger, sitting behind the door plug, was saved by his seatbelt; the force tore off his socks, a shoe, and sucked away his iPhone. A co-pilot testified there was 'chaos,' with the blowout at 400mph ripping off the cockpit door and his headset. Seven passengers and one flight attendant suffered minor injuries. The final report confirmed that four door bolts securing the plug had been removed for rivet work and not reinstalled.
