A passenger was almost sucked out of a broken window on a Ryanair flight after a window shattered midflight. The man was lifted from his seat after the cabin rapidly became depressurised. Passengers have reported the head and shoulders of the man were entirely out of the window at one point following the incident. The passenger’s wife reportedly clung onto her husband for several minutes before the passenger was able to be helped back inside the plane.
Broken window almost causes catastrophe midflight
The incident occurred on Ryanair Flight FR1879 on Friday, July 10, that was scheduled to travel from Thessaloniki, Greece (SKG) to Memmingen, Germany (FMM). The flight was operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair. The flight took off as scheduled at 5:55 a.m. (EET) and was due to arrive in Germany by 7:10 a.m. (EET), however shortly after takeoff the aircraft was forced to make return to Thessaloniki to make an emergency landing. According to flight tracking data, the aircraft reached just over 16,000 feet before the incident occurred and the plane began its return to Greece.
Reports from local media and passenger statements suggest the Boeing 737 took off as scheduled but soon after a loud noise was heard and the window became dislodged, with some passenger statements suggesting the window was completely shattered.
When the incident occurred, the man sitting next to the window, believed to be a Serbian citizen aged 61, was lifted from his seat and forced through the broken window. The incident lasted around 5 minutes as passengers worked to safely help the man back to his seat. Oxygen masks were also deployed throughout the aircraft as the cabin had become depressurised; this causes the plane to lose air pressure and requires immediate response by descending to a safer altitude.
Passengers from the Ryanair flight are safely returned to Greece
Following the incident, the plane was forced to circle back to Thessaloniki, having only reached North Macedonia when the window became dislodged.
Greek news outlet Protothema reported that after the plane safely landed in Greece the affected passenger was taken to hospital to be treated for friction burns and shock. His fellow passengers were put on another flight to Memmingen that departed at 9:53 a.m. (EET) Friday morning to minimise delays, according to a statement given by a spokesperson from Ryanair.
In a statement to local media, a Ryanair’s spokesperson commented:
“A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged inflight.”
Some Greek news outlets have reported that the frightening incident was caused by a flying piece of engine debris causing the window to become dislodged, however this has yet to be confirmed by Ryanair or investigating authorities.
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