How Ryanair passenger who was sucked out plane window was saved by his hero wife who held onto his feet for five minutes
The wife of a passenger who was dragged through the shattered window of a Ryanair plane desperately held on to her legs for five minutes to prevent herself being pulled further out of the plane, fellow passengers have claimed.
According to the information obtained, the man was hanging on his shoulders outside the plane, with his head stuck behind the window as he continued to move through the air.
He is said to have held his wife’s legs until other passengers pulled her back into the cabin.
Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling and passengers feared they would ‘not make it’ as the jet flew for nearly 30 minutes with a damaged window.
An eyewitness sitting in the back of the plane said they initially did not understand what was happening.
‘We thought we were going to crash,’ he said, before describing the injured passenger.
‘There was blood on his head. “He fainted a few times.”
“We were wearing oxygen masks, we didn’t know if we would make it,” the witness added.
The Boeing 737-800 plane, which was heading from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, had to turn back and make an emergency landing at the departure airport after the dramatic incident.
An eyewitness told the German Press Agency (dpa) that a window was broken, as seen in videos circulating on social media.
A Ryanair passenger was allegedly sucked ‘up to his shoulders’ through the plane window and had to be pulled back onto the jet by other passengers
The injured passenger is thought to be a 61-year-old Serbian citizen
The jet took off from Greece at 5.55am local time, but shortly after takeoff at an altitude of approximately 20,000ft, a loud explosion was heard in flight.
Commenting on the incident, the president of the Panhellenic Public Hospital Employees Federation (POEDIN) claimed that ‘almost a tragedy’ occurred
A short time later, a man sitting next to the window was reportedly ‘sucked’ through the opening, according to German newspaper BILD.
“His head and shoulders were sticking out of the broken window,” another eyewitness told Greek broadcaster ERT.
The man’s wife apparently held him by his legs for about five minutes, after which other passengers were able to pull him back into the cabin as their oxygen masks dropped.
A Ryanair spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning returned to Thessaloniki after the passenger window became dislodged shortly after take-off.
‘The plane landed normally and the passengers returned to the terminal.
‘A passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.
‘In order to minimize any delays, a replacement aircraft has been arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen, departing Thessaloniki at 9.53am locally this morning.’
According to publicly available flight data, the Ryanair flight landed back in Thessaloniki 1 hour and 14 minutes later.
The injured passenger is believed to be a 61-year-old Serbian citizen.
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, he suffered a neck injury as a result of the blow and also suffered scrapes and burns.
It was learned that the man was conscious but in shock.
A pregnant woman on the plane was also taken to hospital. According to local media reports, the woman is in good health and has left the hospital.
Greek media claims that the incident occurred as a result of a part of the plane’s engine malfunctioning and its window being damaged.
According to publicly available flight data, the Ryanair flight landed back in Thessaloniki 1 hour and 14 minutes later.
Greek media claims that the incident occurred as a result of a part of the plane’s engine malfunctioning and its window being damaged.
Greek media claims that the incident was caused by a part of the plane’s engine malfunctioning and the glass being damaged.
The pilot then decided to turn around and immediately return to Thessaloniki airport.
Commenting on the incident, the president of the Panhellenic Public Hospital Employees Federation (POEDIN) claimed that ‘almost a tragedy’ occurred.
He said the ‘damaged’ window was broken and that part of the passenger’s body was pulled out of the plane before he was restrained by his wife.
People on social media were quick to react to the dramatic incident, with one user writing to X: ‘This is terrible. ‘Always wear your seatbelt, people.’
However, according to a fellow passenger, the man was wearing his seat belt.
A woman who was on the frightening flight told Radio Thessaloniki 94.5 what she witnessed.
‘There was a sound like a tire bursting. “There was panic with screams and voices because we instantly lost altitude due to decompression,” he said.
‘For a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door. The flight attendants lost it. We all immediately put on our masks. ‘It felt like it was a long time before we realized what had happened.’
Regarding the 61-year-old Serb, he added: ‘They grabbed him and held him down; Luckily he didn’t take off his seat belt.
‘His head was completely outside the plane. The girls next to him were pulling him. Some doctors also went to help him.’
Greek media reported that the incident occurred over North Macedonia and that the window was broken by a piece of debris from one of the plane’s engines.
