Ljubiša Karović, 61, has vowed to sue Ryanair for millions after being sucked out a window during a mid-air incident. His lawyer, Vasileios Tsiaras, said the lawsuit could amount to tens of millions of euros.
Incident details
Mr Karović was travelling from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany when the window next to him shattered, abruptly waking him. Objects onboard flew through the air and out of the window as passengers, including his wife, desperately tried to hold him down.
The Serbian national was left with burns and bruises on his right arm, stretching from his armpit to his chest, and must wear a neck brace for at least six weeks.
Legal action and investigation
Lawyer Vasileios Tsiaras is working with a US law firm to represent Mr Karović and 35 other passengers who "faced death" in a class-action lawsuit, German outlet Bild reports. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the fan blade on the Boeing 737 broke, and the window shattered from engine debris.
Flight crews also reported four bird strikes to the same engine over the previous year, the NTSB added, and bird remains were found after two of them. Mr Tsiaras maintains that bird strikes could not have caused the damaged window and questions the aircraft's maintenance.
Witness accounts
Mr Tsiaras told Bild: "To say that no one was outside the aircraft is ridiculous. There are approximately 70 people on the plane who witnessed this. There is no doubt: Had the man not been wearing his seatbelt, he would have been sucked out the window and would not have survived."
He added: "Whether we will take action against Ryanair, Boeing, the maintenance companies or the engine manufacturer, or against several of the aforementioned companies, we can only announce once the final report from the experts on the cause of the engine damage is available."
Mr Karović's wife Svetlana, who was sitting three rows behind him, said none of the cabin crew helped her husband, and another passenger tried to plug the broken window with luggage. One witness told Greek outlet ERT that Mr Karović became "sucked" into the air from his seat, while his wife held onto him for roughly five minutes before other passengers joined in to pull him back down.
