A Ryanair flight operating from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, Germany, descended into terror when a passenger was nearly sucked out of the aircraft after a cabin window completely detached mid-flight.
Eyewitnesses reported that the 61-year-old Serbian national ended up with his head and shoulders entirely outside the fuselage. His wife and fellow travellers desperately held onto him until they managed to haul him back into the aircraft cabin.
The flight had departed on Friday morning from Thessaloniki bound for southern Germany. Flight tracking data indicated that approximately ten minutes after takeoff, the Boeing aircraft dropped rapidly by about 9,000 feet following an abrupt loss of cabin pressure.
Passengers told local media outlets that they heard a loud bang, which was instantly followed by the deployment of oxygen masks as panic broke out across the cabin.
One traveller described realising immediately that decompression had occurred amidst widespread screaming, adding that for a brief moment she believed an emergency exit door had burst open.
Witnesses stated that the man sitting right next to the window was violently drawn towards the opening, causing his upper body to dangle out of the plane.
Another passenger noted that the man fortunately had not undone his seatbelt, explaining that his wife managed to grip his legs for roughly five minutes until other travellers rushed over to help pull him back inside the cabin.
A further account detailed that the decompression was so intense that passengers found it difficult to breathe, whilst the injured man was bleeding and lost consciousness multiple times, likely due to a combination of oxygen deprivation and shock.
Video footage captured the damaged engine of the Ryanair Boeing 737, from which metal shrapnel was ejected shortly after takeoff, striking the fuselage and shattering the cabin window next to the passenger seats. The initial destination was reported as Munich, though the flight path was bound for the Memmingen facility.
The president of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees, Michalis Giannakos, confirmed that the 61-year-old Serbian citizen is currently hospitalised with friction burns. He remains in a severe state of shock but is fully conscious.
Ryanair confirmed that the flight returned to Thessaloniki shortly after departure due to a passenger window detaching mid-air.
The airline stated that the aircraft landed safely, passengers were returned to the terminal building, and one passenger received medical assistance immediately upon landing. A replacement aircraft was arranged to transport the remaining passengers to their final destination a few hours later.
Passengers suggested that the window was struck by engine debris, though Ryanair has not yet officially confirmed this scenario.
The aircraft, which is approximately 18 years old, was operating the route on behalf of Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair.
Airport operator Fraport Greece announced that the incident is being investigated by the National Air and Rail Accident Investigation Authority, with all involved bodies cooperating to clarify the exact circumstances of the event.
Former airline captain Chris Brady estimated that the outcome could have been far more severe had the passenger not been wearing his seatbelt.
He noted that the standard recommendation by pilots for passengers to keep their seatbelts fastened even when the sign is turned off exists precisely for instances of sudden turbulence or unpredictable events, such as the one that occurred on the flight from Thessaloniki to Germany.