Mid-air scare as Ryanair passenger is nearly sucked out of broken window on Boeing plane

THESSALONIKI (Greece), July 11 — A man was nearly sucked out the window of a Ryanair flight when it “detached” mid-air en route to Germany, with other passengers pulling him back inside, witnesses and officials said Friday.

The passenger, described as a tourist from Serbia on a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany, has been hospitalised with friction burns but was otherwise in good condition, authorities said.

“Most of us had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. There was a noise, like a tyre bursting,” a fellow passenger told Radio Thessaloniki.

“We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams … for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door,” the woman said.

“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.”

Other passengers near the man helped to pull him in, she said.

Greek media reported the incident had occurred over North Macedonia, and said the window had been broken by a piece of debris that detached from one of the plane’s engines.

Ryanair, in a statement, said the flight “returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window detached during the flight. The aircraft landed normally and the passengers returned to the terminal”.

A replacement aircraft was made available to transport the remaining passengers to Memmingen, the Irish carrier said.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing said it was aware of the incident and was in contact with Ryanair.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the incident involved a broken window on board a Boeing 737-800.

It said it was ready to help its counterparts in Greece and provide technical support to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates aviation accidents and incidents.

The NTSB said, “North Macedonia, as the country of occurrence, will lead the investigation and determine the composition of the investigative team and any international participation.

“The NTSB has appointed a US Accredited Representative, who, along with technical advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration, The Boeing Company and General Electric Aerospace, are standing by to assist,” it added in a statement. — AFP