Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary has told reporters the airline will be disputing claims that a man was sucked out of a window mid-flight.
What happened?
Ljubisa Karović, 61, was severely injured when the window next to him shattered on a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece to Germany in July. His lawyer said he was dragged back onto the flight after his arm and head were sucked out of the plane.
Other passengers, including Karović’s wife managed to pull him back into the plane by his legs. The plane landed back in Greece safely.
What did investigators say?
The U.S National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined in a preliminary report that the window was broken by a fan blade from the Boeing 737-800s engine that also damaged the fuselage. Investigators later found a bird’s remains on the damaged engine fan.
Speaking to reporters after the airlines annual general meeting in Dublin, O’Leary acknowledged that Karovic had been injured but he told reporters that while he was certainly “Sucked in very dramatic fashion towards the window,” he doesn’t believe that any part of his body was outside of the plane. O’Leary also added that
“His wife who claims she saved him by hanging on to his feet is certainly somewhat delusional, given that she was sitting in a seat three rows behind him.”
The NTSB published a report last month that stated a member of the cabin crew
“Noticed the passenger in seat 11F was partially lodged in a damaged cabin window, and that the entire window was missing.”
Photos and videos from the flight show a damaged window and oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling.
O’Leary said that while Karović is entitled to compensation, he “won’t be getting millions and millions” and the airline will certainly dispute the fact that “any part of his anatomy will have made it out the window.”
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