Ryanair: Wife of man almost sucked out of plane window breaks silence

The wife of a man almost sucked out of a plane window mid-flight has recounted the horrifying experience for the first time.

The Ryanair aircraft had just departed Thessaloniki for Memmingen in Germany when a window became dislodged shortly after take-off, triggering an emergency descent and return to the Greek city.

Ryanair confirmed the flight landed safely and said one passenger required medical assistance, while Greek officials said a 61-year-old man suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns.

Serbian couple Svetlana Grković and Ljubiša Karović were on their way home from a Greek holiday before tragedy struck.

“It was as if a part of the engine broke off and hit the window where my husband Ljubiša was sitting,” she told Serbian outlet Nova in a translated quote.

“Luckily, he was strapped in. As the window broke, decompression occurred in the cabin.

“The pressure pulled Ljubiša, 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.”

When she spoke with BBC Serbia, she added that two other passengers helped pull Mr Karović back inside.

“We pulled him back together,” Ms Grković said.

“His entire face was deformed and blood was pouring from his nose and mouth.”

In translated quotes, she told Greece’s ERT News that her husband was “out up to his chest” and stayed there “for up to two minutes”.

She added that a suitcase was lodged in the window but it was “sucked” out.

Upon landing, Mr Karović was rushed to hospital, where he remains.

“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,” Ms Grković said to Nova.

“My husband has serious injuries, 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,’ she told ERT News.

Passengers described scenes of panic as a loud bang echoed through the cabin before the aircraft rapidly lost pressure.

One passenger, identified only as Christina, told Thessaloniki radio that some passengers panicked and screamed and that one passenger was partially sucked out of the window.

“His whole head, neck, shoulders,” were pulled out of the window, she said, adding that those seated near him pulled him back in.

“Most people had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. We heard a sound, I’d describe it like a tyre bursting … but very loud,” she said.

“We knew straight away we lost pressure because we lost altitude … Screams, shrieks, shouting.”

Ryanair said the aircraft returned to Thessaloniki after “a passenger window dislodged inflight” but did not explain what caused the failure.

“The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal,” the airline said.

The US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the aircraft was a Boeing 737 NG and said it was prepared to support the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority and the US National Transportation Safety Board with the investigation.

Greek media reported a section of engine debris may have struck the window, causing the cabin to decompress, while two airport sources familiar with the incident relayed similar information to Reuters. However, investigators have not yet confirmed the cause.

- With AP