Survivor Recounts Horrific Moment He Was Sucked Toward Aircraft Window During Ryanair Flight

A Ryanair passenger who was partially pulled from a Boeing 737 after a window shattered during flight has described his terrifying ordeal, stating he feels incredibly fortunate to be alive.

Ljubisa Karović, 61, was aboard a Malta Air flight operated by Ryanair traveling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, on July 10. Shortly after takeoff, debris—suspected to have originated from a damaged engine—struck and shattered a cabin window.

The resulting loss of cabin pressure forced the aircraft to make an emergency return to Thessaloniki. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary noted on Monday that preliminary findings suggest the engine may have suffered “foreign-object damage,” though a formal investigation is ongoing.

Karović, a Serbian entrepreneur, shared with The Guardian that the trauma of the moments preceding the “catastrophe” haunts his sleep.

Ljubisa Karović, 61, was on a Ryanair flight operated by Malta Air from Thessaloniki, Greece, en route to Memmingen, Germany, when debris believed to have come from the aircraft’s damaged engine struck and shattered a window. (Reuters/Alexandros Avramidis/File Photo / Reuters Photos)

“I remember the explosion,” Karović told the publication. “It’s the sound before the chaos—that noise stays with me every time I close my eyes to sleep.”

“I was told that I fainted twice inside the plane, and that the rapid pressure change and rush of air caused my face to swell and deform,” he continued.

Karović survived the near-fatal incident because his wife and other passengers acted quickly to pull him back into the cabin.

His wife, Svetlana, who was seated three rows behind him, rushed to assist when she saw him hanging “half in and out of the plane” for approximately two minutes.

“The passengers were the ones who helped, not the cabin crew,” she said. “One man, who I believe was Albanian, was incredible. He did everything possible to pull him back in and then tried to block the window—first with a bag that was instantly sucked out, and then with a suitcase, which worked. We are eternally grateful to him.”

Ryanair has disputed the claim that the crew failed to respond appropriately. The airline informed The Guardian that during the depressurization and subsequent rapid descent, all passengers and crew were required to remain seated and use oxygen masks. The airline stated that crew members attended to Karović and arranged medical assistance once the plane reached a safe altitude. Investigators have not yet confirmed whether standard crew procedures were fully followed.

A broken window in the Ryanair aircraft following an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, Greece, July 10, 2026. (Despoina Papapavlou via REUTERS / Reuters Photos)

Following the incident, Karović was hospitalized for neck and shoulder injuries, as well as friction burns. Medical professionals advised that his recovery will be slow, requiring a neck brace for at least six weeks before doctors can determine if surgery is necessary.

“I am lucky,” Karović said. “I don’t remember much, and my head and neck still ache, but I am alive.”

Karović suggested that his seatbelt may have prevented him from being completely ejected from the aircraft.

“Perhaps it was the seatbelt—the fact that I was still strapped in,” he said. “But perhaps it was fate. I believe in God, and I thank Him every day.”

Karović’s legal representative, Vasilis Tsiaras, remarked that the passenger “dipped in and out of death.”

“Ljubisa was hurled out of the window from the chest up when the cabin lost pressure, and he immediately lost consciousness. At 15,000 feet, his head and right arm were outside the aircraft while it moved at speeds exceeding 600km/h (373 mph). Imagine that!” Tsiaras said. “He looked into death and came back.”

The interior of the Ryanair aircraft after an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, Greece, July 10, 2026. (Despoina Papapavlou via REUTERS / Reuters Photos)

Flight data indicates that the aircraft, a 2008 model, was climbing past 15,000 feet about six minutes after takeoff before descending to 6,000 feet. According to Flightradar24, the plane remained at a lower altitude for approximately 30 minutes to conserve fuel before returning to Thessaloniki about an hour after departure.

The investigation is being led by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board after Greece’s Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority delegated the probe to the American agency. Greek investigators are also participating in the inquiry.

Source link