The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report into a Ryanair flight where a passenger was partially sucked out of a window following a blowout. Fragments of the plane's right engine smashed the window and caused the cabin to depressurise.
Engine failure and emergency descent
Flight 1879, operated by Ryanair's subsidiary Malta Air, had left Thessaloniki in Greece and was heading for Memmingen, Germany, when a fan-blade failure triggered the incident. Cabin crew were preparing the inflight service when they reported a loud vibration and smoke, before oxygen masks dropped automatically.
The passenger in seat 11F was partially sucked out of the broken window beside him. The plane made an emergency descent and returned safely to Thessaloniki airport.
Investigation findings
Ljubiša Karović, 61, was sleeping when the incident occurred and was held inside the cabin by his wife, Svetlana Grković. Forensic examination confirmed three fan blades had separated inside the engine, with other blades showing deterioration. This was traced to several failed fasteners that were not fitted with enhancers recommended by an FAA directive issued in 2025 following two similar blade-out incidents.
Bird remains, including feathers, were found in the engine's IDG oil cooler and on two other parts. Investigators also found another mandated enhancement to brackets on the engine's exhaust nozzle had not been carried out, with a due date of July 2028.
Pilot experience and prior incidents
The flight's captain had 8,270 flight hours, of which 7,683 were on the Boeing 737. Fan blade failures have been a recurring issue on aircraft, with some proving fatal. In 1989, 47 people were killed when a British Midland aircraft crashed near the village of Kegworth in Leicestershire after a fan-blade fracture in its left engine was misdiagnosed in the cockpit as a right engine failure.
Metro has contacted Ryanair for comment.
