Passenger is sucked out of Ryanair plane window up to his shoulders and has to be pulled back in by other travellers during flight to Germany
According to other passengers on the plane, a Ryanair passenger was dragged up to his shoulders through the window of the plane, which shattered during the flight.
With his head trapped outside the shattered window, nearby passengers held the man down to prevent further parts of his body from being pulled out of the plane during the flight this morning.
The Boeing 737-800 plane, flying from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, had to turn back and land at the departure airport after the dramatic incident.
The jet took off from Greece as planned at 5.55am local time, but shortly after takeoff at an altitude of approximately 20,000ft, a loud explosion was heard on the plane.
An eyewitness told the German Press Agency (dpa) that a window was broken, as seen in videos circulating on social media.
According to BILD, a man sitting near the window was ‘sucked in’ shortly after the sudden noise.
“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 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 6,000 metres, a loud explosion was heard in flight.
A Ryanair spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on the morning of Friday 10 July 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 De Telegraaf, he was injured in the neck as a result of the blow, as well as abrasions 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 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 thriller flight told Radio Thessaloniki 94.5 what she witnessed.
‘There was a sound like a tire bursting. “There was a panic with screams, shouts 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.’
He added of the 61-year-old Serb: ‘They caught him and held him on the ground, luckily he had not taken off his seatbelt.
‘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.
