Serbian Man Hangs Out of Shattered Ryanair Window During Turbulent Takeoff

Incident Details

A passenger on a Ryanair flight was reportedly almost sucked out of a window after it shattered in mid-air during a journey from Greece. The man, reported to be a Serbian individual, was said to have been lifted out of his seat into the plane’s slipstream and hung headfirst out of the window after an engine failure resulted in parts smashing the acrylic window.

The passenger was saved from being completely sucked out of the aircraft because his wife “held him by the legs.” The incident took place on Ryanair flight FR1879, which was scheduled to fly from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen near Munich in Germany. It was operated by the budget airline’s subsidiary, Malta Air.

The man was taken to a hospital suffering from shock and friction burns from the freezing wind outside the airliner, according to reports. The incident was “almost a tragedy,” said the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees.

Images and videos show that the shattered window caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling as the cabin became depressurised. Data from the website of the tracking company FlightRadar24 indicates that the flight was airborne for just over an hour, and reached 16,000ft before descending into Thessaloniki airport.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged inflight. The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.”

In order to minimise any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen.

Background and Similar Incidents

The incident highlights potential safety concerns with air travel. In 2024, a similar situation occurred on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 flight. An engine failure led to cabin depressurization, causing significant damage inside the plane.

One passenger described how his shirt was ripped off and sucked out as he tried to hold onto his child during the emergency landing. Another passenger also suffered from a forceful airflow that tore away his seat belt, socks, shoe, and even his iPhone.

In testimony to investigators, a co-pilot of the plane said there was “chaos,” with the blowout as the plane travelled at 400mph that it ripped off the cockpit door and tore off his headset. Seven passengers and one flight attendant suffered minor injuries. The final report into the incident confirmed that some bolts securing the door plug had been removed for rivet work when the jet was being built but were not reinstalled properly before the flight.