A Ryanair-Air Malta flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to an unconfirmed destination last week experienced a terrifying mid-air incident when a passenger window blew out, almost pulling a man from the aircraft. Ljubisa Karović, who was seated next to the window on the Boeing 737-800, had his head and shoulders pulled partially out of the plane before his wife and other passengers managed to hold him inside. The flight subsequently returned to Thessaloniki.
While investigators have yet to confirm the exact cause, passenger accounts indicate the window shattered after being hit by debris, following what appeared to be a failure of the aircraft's right engine at an altitude of around 16,000 feet. Ryanair confirmed the flight returned to Thessaloniki after a "passenger window dislodged inflight," while North Macedonian authorities noted the plane turned around due to a "right engine issue and cabin decompression." Footage circulating online appears to show a missing fan blade from the engine, similar to a fatal Southwest Airlines incident in 2018 involving a Boeing 737 with CFM jet engines.
Dr. Jason Knight, a senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth, explained that while the airflow is sudden, the most severe suction is relatively short-lived, ceasing once cabin and external pressures equalise. Passengers credited Mr. Karović's seatbelt with preventing him from being fully ejected. Furthermore, the small size of airliner windows means an adult body can physically block the opening, contributing to survival in such rare events.
Although these incidents are extremely uncommon, they are not entirely unprecedented. The 2018 Southwest Airlines flight saw a passenger die after being partially sucked out of a broken window on a similar Boeing 737 model. More recently, in 2024, an entire door panel blew out of a Boeing 737-Max on an Alaska Air flight, though fortunately, the adjacent seats were unoccupied. Pilots have also faced similar dangers, with a British Airways pilot in 1990 remarkably surviving after being held by his legs for 20 minutes when his cockpit windshield blew out.
Mr. Karović is currently receiving treatment for injuries and trauma, including bleeding, a damaged hand, and friction burns. Dr. Simon Bennett, a pilot and director of the civil safety and security unit at the University of Leicester, highlighted the risks of hypoxia, physical trauma, and profound psychological trauma in such events, but reiterated that survival is possible. Those closest to the window and not wearing a seatbelt are most at risk, especially if they are small enough to pass through the opening easily.