A passenger experienced a harrowing moment when a window broke soon after the plane took off, causing him to be partially ejected from the aircraft.
This incident occurred on a low-cost Ryanair flight on Friday morning as the man, whose identity remains undisclosed, was traveling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany. The flight was diverted back to Thessaloniki, where it landed without further incident.
“The injured man was bleeding and was initially unconscious,” a witness recounted.
According to Greek broadcaster ERT, the man was pulled out from the waist up through the broken window.
In a panic, other passengers attempted to restrain him to prevent him from being sucked out any further.
Ryanair confirmed that the man was treated for shock and other injuries, while the remaining passengers were accommodated on another flight.
A witness sitting near the scene described the moment: “We heard a loud bang, and the oxygen masks were deployed. The man was bleeding and appeared unconscious.”
The doctor who treated the 61-year-old man noted that his wife had to hold onto his leg to pull him back into the cabin.
Greek aviation authorities informed a news outlet that the aircraft, a Ryanair Boeing 737, suffered an engine failure, leading to the window being broken.
On July 10, shortly after takeoff, the flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen was forced to return due to the incident, as confirmed by Ryanair. The aircraft landed safely and passengers returned to the terminal.
The statement also mentioned that one passenger sought medical assistance once they reached Thessaloniki.
Video footage showed oxygen masks hanging and the broken window inside the aircraft.
This Boeing aircraft was delivered in 2008 and the Hellenic Aviation and Railway Safety Investigation Agency is currently looking into the incident.
