Ryanair passenger partially sucked out of window on Boeing 737 flight from Greece to Germany
Renee Maltezou, David Shepardson And Padraic Halpin
Athens/Washington: A passenger on a Ryanair Boeing 737 flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, on Friday was partially sucked through a window that became dislodged, two airport sources said. The plane had to make an emergency landing.
Ryanair said in a statement that the plane was scheduled to fly from Thessaloniki to Memmingen airport in Germany but returned to Thessaloniki “after the passenger window became dislodged during the flight”. It’s unclear what led to the broken window.
The Serbian national, who was partially pulled in through the window, was taken to AHEPA University General Hospital in Thessaloniki but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the Serbian consulate said, adding that doctors were determining the extent of the injuries.
Serbian media quoted a passenger as telling Radio Thessaloniki that the man’s head and shoulders were outside the plane before other passengers pulled him back.
The US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the aircraft was a Boeing 737 NG; this was the version before the current MAX generation 737 aircraft.
Boeing said it was assisting with the investigation led by North Macedonia, where the incident occurred. “We are in contact with our customer Ryanair and continue to support them,” the company said.
Ryanair did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the details of the incident, as well as confirmation on the make of the aircraft and engine.
“The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal,” Ryanair said in a statement.
Local media in Greece reported that an engine part failed early in the flight, causing a window to break and depressurizing the cabin. Two airport sources with knowledge of the incident gave the same details to Reuters.
A video posted on social media showed an uncontrolled engine failure on the damaged Boeing 737, with fan blades missing. Such a failure occurs when internal components, such as fan blades, break apart, cracking the case and causing debris to fly.
Flightradar24 showed a Boeing 737 NG jet bound for Memmingen returning to Thessaloniki on Friday morning.
According to data and a source, the same plane returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff for a flight to Sarajevo on Thursday evening, but the reason for this is unclear.
The FAA confirmed that a window was broken on Friday’s flight and said it was ready to support the investigation. Serbian state television also showed the inside of the plane and its broken glass.
Ryanair uses CFM56 engines from manufacturer CFM International on all Boeing 737 NG models. CFM, a joint venture between General Electric Co and France’s Safran SA, had no comment.
Unverified videos from inside the plane posted on social media showed broken glass and oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling.
A Greek airport source said the plane was still grounded in Thessaloniki and investigators were investigating the incident.
A similar incident occurred with another Boeing 737 NG in 2018. The fan blade on the engine of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 NG broke, causing the glass to break.
killed passenger. The 43-year-old man became the first person to die in a passenger airline crash in the United States in nine years.
Following the incident, the US National Transportation Safety Board called on Boeing to redesign the fan cowl structure on 737 NG aircraft. In 2016, another Southwest 737 NG experienced engine failure.
The FAA issued a directive in 2023 requiring Boeing to redesign by July 2028.
Tammie Jo Shults, who was praised for her nonchalant demeanor while flying the Southwest plane, said Friday she was surprised and impressed by some of the similarities.
“They have an engine that dies out. There’s external damage. It’s not just an engine that stops working and so there’s more friction,” he said in an interview.
Reuters
