Svetlana Grković saved the life of her husband Ljubiša Karović after he was partially sucked out of a Ryanair aircraft window at 20,000ft. The 61-year-old from Serbia was flying with his wife from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday, 10 July, when the incident occurred.
Mid-Air Emergency
The couple were returning from a summer holiday in Greece when the plane encountered difficulties shortly after departing Thessaloniki at 5:55am local time. The captain detected an engine fault while over North Macedonia and decided to return to Thessaloniki.
During the descent, a piece of the failing engine broke off and struck the cabin window beside Mr Karović's seat, according to the Express. The internal pressure caused him to be partially sucked out of the aircraft.
Wife's Heroic Actions
Ms Grković told Nova: "It was as if a part of the engine broke off and hit the window next to which my husband Ljubiša was sitting. I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: 'If we die, we die together.' It was horrible."
She also expressed gratitude to another passenger who helped save her husband during the ordeal. Mr Karović remains hospitalized with friction burns, a badly injured hand, and severe shock. He lost consciousness multiple times and has little memory of the event.
Ryanair Statement
A Ryanair spokesperson said: "A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (10 July) returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off 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 9:53 local this morning."
