A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, was forced to turn back yesterday, July 10, after a cabin window came loose mid-air, nearly pulling a passenger out of the aircraft.
The Serbian man, believed to be around 60 years old, had his head and shoulders pulled towards the opening for several minutes before fellow passengers managed to haul him back inside the cabin, according to witnesses cited by the BBC.
Ryanair said in a statement that the Friday morning flight had to return to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off due to a cabin window becoming detached during the flight. The airline confirmed the aircraft, a Boeing 737 operated by Malta Air, a Ryanair group airline, landed safely and all passengers disembarked normally. One passenger requested medical assistance after landing. Ryanair later arranged a replacement aircraft, which departed for Memmingen several hours afterwards.
Passengers told Greek and German media that a loud bang was heard soon after take-off, followed by the window breaking, oxygen masks dropping from the ceiling and a loss of cabin pressure. Some believe the window may have been struck by debris from the engine, though Ryanair has not commented on that theory.
One female passenger recalled realising immediately that the cabin had lost pressure. She said people began screaming, and she initially thought someone had accidentally opened an emergency door before seeing the male passenger with his head and shoulders pulled towards the window. She said his seatbelt was credited with preventing him from being pulled further out.
The aircraft involved is reported to be around 18 years old. The Irish Aviation Authority said it was aware of the incident and would cooperate with Greek air accident investigators and Malta’s civil aviation authority as they look into what caused the window to detach, reported Thairath.
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