- The Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany made an emergency return after a window blew out mid-flight
- Passenger Ljubisa Karovic was partially sucked out but held by his wife and fellow travelers until landing
- Oxygen masks deployed after a loud bang, causing panic and confusion among passengers on board
The wife of a Ryanair passenger who was partially sucked out of a plane window after it reportedly blew out mid-flight has described the terrifying moments she feared she would lose him. According to the Guardian, Svetlana Grkovic and her husband, Ljubisa Karovic, were travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, on Friday when their Ryanair flight was forced to make an emergency return shortly after take-off.
According to local Greek media, part of the aircraft's engine is believed to have broken off and struck a window, causing it to fail and triggering a sudden loss of cabin pressure. The exact cause remains under investigation.
'Half His Body Was Outside The Plane'
Speaking to Romanian outlet Nova, Grkovic said the rapid decompression pulled her husband towards the shattered window. Because he was wearing his seat belt, he was not completely ejected, but she said half of his body was left outside the aircraft for nearly two minutes. She immediately grabbed his legs to stop him from being pulled further out, while fellow passengers rushed to help hold him until the aircraft turned back towards Thessaloniki.
"The pressure pulled Ljubisa; luckily he was strapped in, but half of his body was sticking out of the plane. I immediately reacted and grabbed his legs. I thought, 'If we die, we die together.' It was horrible," she said.
Grkovic later thanked the strangers who helped her, saying one man and one woman helped hold her husband in place throughout the emergency. "Some people came to my aid; I remember one man and one woman. That man helped me a lot, Ljubisa and me. I think he was Albanian, thank you very much. I didn't remember his name, I don't even know if he told me. I would like to meet him, to thank him personally again," Grkovic added.
Her husband was taken to hospital by ambulance when the aircraft landed.
Passengers Describe Panic On Board
Videos shared on social media showed oxygen masks hanging from the cabin ceiling after the aircraft rapidly lost pressure. Other footage captured the damaged window, with shattered glass still lining its frame.
Several passengers described hearing a loud bang moments before the oxygen masks deployed. One passenger told local radio that many people initially thought someone had opened an emergency exit because of the sudden noise, while others screamed as the cabin depressurised.
Husband Suffered Serious Injuries
Grkovic said her husband survived but sustained serious injuries. According to her, he remains in shock, has severe injuries to one hand and burns, and remembers little of what happened. The ordeal has also taken a psychological toll on her, and she said she has been taking medication to cope with the trauma after fearing the aircraft would crash.
"It's important to me that he's alive. He's seriously injured and in shock. His hand is particularly badly injured, and he's got burns. He's not able to communicate; he doesn't remember the whole event," she told Nova.
In her interview with ERT News she said, "He's wearing a collar, he's in shock, and he hears about planes, and he's shaking. I'm also in a bad psychological state. I'm taking tranquillisers. I was afraid for our lives. I was afraid the plane would crash."
Emergency Landing And Investigation
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft climbed to more than 15,000 feet before descending to around 6,000 feet, where it remained for about 30 minutes to burn fuel before returning safely to Thessaloniki roughly an hour after take-off.
In a statement, Ryanair said the flight returned to Thessaloniki shortly after departure after a passenger window became dislodged in flight. The airline said the aircraft landed normally and passengers were taken back to the terminal before being flown to Memmingen later that day on a replacement aircraft.
The incident is being investigated by the Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority, while the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is also examining what caused the window to fail. Ryanair has confirmed the aircraft involved was a Boeing 737 NG operated by its Malta Air subsidiary.
