What is known about the Ryanair plane emergency after a passenger was pulled through a broken window in flight

Ryanair plane crash searches increased after a passenger was partially pulled through a broken cabin window during a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany on Friday, 10 July 2026. The aircraft did not crash: the Boeing 737-800 returned safely to Thessaloniki after suffering an apparent right-engine problem, damage to a passenger window and a rapid loss of cabin pressure. Sixty-one-year-old Serbian passenger Ljubiša Karović was sitting beside the damaged window when his head and shoulders were pulled outside, according to witnesses, while his wife held his legs and other passengers helped bring him back into the cabin, The WP Times reports.

Karović remained in hospital in Thessaloniki on Tuesday, 14 July, with burns, a serious hand injury and psychological trauma. His wife, Svetlana Grković, said he had lost consciousness several times and could not remember the full sequence of events. Ryanair confirmed that a passenger window became dislodged in flight but has not publicly confirmed claims that debris from the engine struck it. The cause is therefore still under investigation, with aviation authorities examining the engine damage, the failed window and the aircraft’s maintenance and flight records.

What happened on the Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen

The incident involved Ryanair flight FR1879, operated by the airline’s Malta Air subsidiary. It departed Thessaloniki for Memmingen, a regional airport in Bavaria used by passengers travelling to southern Germany. About 10 minutes into the flight, passengers heard a loud bang. Witnesses described the sound as similar to an explosion or a tyre bursting. A window beside Karović’s seat then shattered or became dislodged, causing an immediate decompression of the cabin.

Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling as air rushed towards the opening. Karović, who was wearing his seatbelt, was pulled head-first towards the broken window. Passenger accounts differ slightly over how much of his body was outside, but witnesses consistently reported that his head, neck and shoulders passed through the opening. His wife said the force of the decompression pulled him as far as his chest.

“The pressure pulled Ljubiša,” Grković told the Serbian news outlet Nova. “Luckily, he was strapped in, but half of his body was sticking out of the plane.”

She said she immediately grabbed his legs and refused to release him.

“I thought: ‘If we die, we die together,’” she said in the interview with Nova.

Two other passengers reportedly joined her. Together, they managed to pull Karović back into the cabin after an ordeal his wife estimated lasted close to two minutes. That duration has not yet been independently confirmed by investigators.

Why the passenger’s seatbelt was critical

Passengers said Karović’s seatbelt remained fastened when the window failed. That appears to have prevented him from being pulled entirely through the opening.

One passenger, identified as Christina by Radio Thessaloniki, said his head, neck and shoulders were outside but the belt helped keep the rest of his body inside the aircraft. The event demonstrates why aviation authorities advise passengers to keep their seatbelts fastened while seated, even when the seatbelt sign is switched off. Sudden turbulence or decompression can occur without enough warning for a passenger to secure the belt. In this case, the seatbelt did not prevent injury, but witness accounts indicate that it may have helped save Karović’s life.

What did passengers describe inside the Ryanair cabin

Witnesses described a chaotic scene involving screams, falling oxygen masks, strong airflow and difficulty breathing. Christina told Radio Thessaloniki that passengers immediately understood that the aircraft had suffered decompression.

“There were screams,” she said. “For a moment, I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door.”

Another passenger said those on board believed the aircraft was going down. She described the decompression as extreme and said Karović was bleeding and repeatedly losing consciousness, probably because of shock, injury and reduced oxygen levels.

Video recorded inside the aircraft showed oxygen masks hanging above the seats and a large opening beside the damaged row. Photographs taken after landing showed extensive disruption around the window.

Grković said some passengers moved away from the damaged section while others came forward to help her husband. She specifically thanked a man she believed was Albanian but whose name she did not know.

“That man helped me a lot,” she said. “I would like to meet him and thank him personally.”

Her account suggests that passengers, rather than members of the cabin crew, provided the immediate physical assistance needed to pull Karović back inside. However, the precise actions of the crew will form part of the official investigation, and no formal finding has yet been published.

Did the Ryanair plane crash

No. The aircraft did not crash.

The pilots turned the Boeing 737-800 back towards Thessaloniki and completed a normal landing. Emergency services were waiting on the ground, and Karović was transferred to hospital.

Ryanair said the flight returned “shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged in flight”.

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

The company initially said one passenger had requested and received medical assistance on the ground. Greek reports later indicated that other people were also taken for precautionary medical checks. Ryanair arranged a replacement aircraft for the remaining passengers. That aircraft departed Thessaloniki for Memmingen later the same day.

The phrase Ryanair plane crash is therefore inaccurate as a description of the outcome. The event was a serious in-flight emergency involving engine damage, decompression and a passenger injury, but the pilots retained control and landed safely.

How seriously was Ljubiša Karović injured

Karović was taken to AHEPA University General Hospital in Thessaloniki after the emergency landing. His wife described him as seriously injured and in shock. She said his hand was particularly badly damaged and that he had suffered burns. Other reports referred to friction burns, which can result from exposure to high-speed airflow or contact with surfaces during violent movement.

“It’s important to me that he’s alive,” Grković said. “He’s not able to communicate, and he doesn’t remember the whole event.”

She told BBC Serbia that blood had been coming from his nose and mouth when passengers pulled him back into the aircraft.

Karović reportedly lost consciousness several times during the incident. His wife also said his face appeared severely swollen or distorted immediately after he was brought back inside. The injuries were serious, but reports citing medical and consular sources said they were not considered life-threatening. His exact medical condition has not been released in detail, and patient confidentiality limits the information available publicly.

What his wife said about their psychological condition

Grković said both she and her husband were suffering from severe psychological distress after the flight. She told Greek public broadcaster ERT that Karović began shaking whenever aircraft were mentioned. She also described experiencing a sudden sensation of suffocation when entering a lift after the incident.

“I feared for our lives,” she said. “I was afraid the plane was going to crash.”

She said the images of her husband being pulled through the opening remained constantly in her mind and questioned whether either of them would be able to fly again. The psychological consequences may continue after the physical injuries heal. Survivors of serious aviation incidents can experience anxiety, panic attacks, sleep disruption and symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress.

What caused the Ryanair window to break

The final cause has not been established.

Several passengers said the window broke after they heard a loud bang from the area of the engine. Greek media and airport sources reported that part of the engine may have separated and struck the window. Video recorded after the landing appeared to show damage to the right engine, including missing or damaged fan blades. The US National Transportation Safety Board was notified of an event involving a right-engine issue and cabin decompression.

However, neither Ryanair nor the investigating authority has issued a final statement confirming that an engine blade or another engine component directly hit the window. Grković told ERT that it appeared to her that a piece of the engine had broken away. A technical adviser appointed by the family has reportedly offered a similar preliminary assessment.

That remains a theory rather than an official conclusion. Investigators must determine:

• what initially failed inside or around the engine;
• whether debris escaped from the engine structure;
• what object struck or damaged the window;
• whether the window separated completely or fractured in layers;
• whether maintenance, fatigue, impact damage or another factor contributed;
• and whether the aircraft’s previous operating history was relevant.

Until those questions are answered, reports describing a confirmed engine-blade strike should be treated cautiously.

What is confirmed and what remains under investigation

Who is investigating the Ryanair plane emergency

The incident occurred while the aircraft was flying in or close to North Macedonian airspace. North Macedonia’s aviation accident investigation authority is therefore expected to play a leading role under international aviation rules.

Other agencies and companies are assisting because the aircraft, operator, engine and location involve several jurisdictions. The investigation includes or may include representatives from:

• North Macedonia’s aviation safety investigation authority;
• the Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority;
• the European Union Aviation Safety Agency;
• the US National Transportation Safety Board;
• the US Federal Aviation Administration;
• Boeing, which manufactured the aircraft;
• CFM International, which manufactured the engines;
• Malta, where the operating airline and aircraft are registered;
• and Ryanair or Malta Air as the operator.

EASA has said it is following the inquiry and will consider whether any additional airworthiness measures are necessary. The investigation is intended to establish the technical cause and prevent a recurrence. It is not designed primarily to determine criminal or civil liability.

Why the damaged engine will be central to the inquiry

The Boeing 737-800 involved was part of the older 737 Next Generation family, not the 737 MAX series. The aircraft was approximately 18 years old and used CFM56 engines. Investigators will examine the right engine for evidence of a fan-blade failure, damage to the engine casing or separation of part of the cowling. One important question is whether the aircraft suffered an uncontained engine failure. This occurs when a component breaks inside the engine and fragments escape beyond the protective casing.

Such events are rare, but debris can strike the wing, fuselage, fuel systems or passenger cabin. Investigators will therefore map the damage and attempt to identify every recovered fragment. They are also likely to examine:

• engine inspection and maintenance records;
• previous technical reports involving the aircraft;
• flight-data recorder information;
• cockpit voice recordings;
• crew actions and communications;
• pressure changes inside the cabin;
• the design and condition of the failed window;
• and any debris found inside or outside the aircraft.

Why the incident has been compared with Southwest flight 1380

The Ryanair emergency has been compared with Southwest Airlines flight 1380, which suffered an engine failure over the United States in April 2018. In that case, engine debris struck a cabin window on a Boeing 737-700. Passenger Jennifer Riordan was partially pulled through the opening and later died from her injuries.

US investigators found that a fan blade had fractured because of metal fatigue. The accident led to new inspection requirements and design recommendations concerning CFM56 engines and their surrounding structures. There are clear similarities: both incidents involved a Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft, engine damage, a broken passenger window and sudden decompression. However, investigators have not established that the Ryanair incident had the same technical cause. The comparison is relevant to the inquiry but cannot be treated as proof.

Investigators will reconstruct the flight minute by minute and establish which component failed first. They will need to determine whether the engine problem directly caused the window damage, whether existing inspections should have detected any defect and whether additional checks are required for similar aircraft. A preliminary report may provide factual information about the engine, altitude, flight path and damage. A final report is likely to take considerably longer because components may require laboratory examination and data must be collected from several countries.

Ryanair may also face questions about communication with the injured passenger’s family, the actions of the cabin crew and the description of the medical response. Grković has said the family received insufficient direct support from the airline, although Ryanair has not publicly responded in detail to that allegation. For now, the most important confirmed facts are that flight FR1879 suffered a major in-flight emergency on 10 July, its window failed during a cabin decompression, a passenger was partially pulled outside and survived because he was wearing a seatbelt and other people held him. The aircraft did not crash, the pilots landed safely in Thessaloniki, and the technical cause has not yet been conclusively established.

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Materials used: Reuters, Ryanair, EASA, NTSB, The Guardian, BBC Serbia, ERT and Radio Thessaloniki.