Passenger nearly sucked out of window on Ryanair flight
A passenger was partially sucked out of a broken window on a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen. The plane returned safely, and the man was pulled back by fellow passengers.
A dramatic mid-air incident occurred on a Friday morning Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany. A 60-year-old Serbian man was reportedly sucked head-first out of a cabin window up to his shoulders, dangling for several minutes before other passengers managed to pull him back inside.
Ryanair stated that the window dislodged shortly after takeoff, prompting the pilots to return to Thessaloniki. The aircraft landed normally, and one passenger requested medical assistance upon arrival. A replacement plane was later arranged to continue the journey to Germany.
Greek and German media reported that passengers heard a loud bang, saw the window break, and oxygen masks deploy. Some believed the window was shattered by debris from the engine, though Ryanair did not comment on this theory. The aircraft, an 18-year-old Boeing 737, was operated by Ryanair's subsidiary Malta Air.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) acknowledged the incident and said it would assist Greek and Maltese authorities in the investigation. A similar event in 2018 on a Southwest Airlines flight in the US resulted in a passenger's death after being partially sucked out of a broken window.
