Engine parts smashed Ryanair window that man's head was sucked out of, report says

What the report says

US investigators say debris from a broken engine fan blade struck a Ryanair aircraft’s cabin window during a 10 July flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, setting off a serious in-flight emergency. The preliminary finding was issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which said it was handling the investigation on behalf of Greek authorities.

According to the BBC’s report, the right engine suffered a fan-blade-out failure shortly after takeoff. The crew reported high vibration, reduced power, and later heard a loud bang before declaring an emergency and returning to Thessaloniki. The aircraft landed without further incident, but passengers and crew experienced smoke, oxygen-mask deployment and significant concern in the cabin.

The BBC said Serbian passenger Ljubisa Karović was pulled partly through the damaged window, with his head and right shoulder forced outside the aircraft. His wife later described passengers holding his legs until he could be secured. He was seriously injured and in shock, the report said. The aircraft was operated by Malta Air, a Ryanair subsidiary.

The incident matters because it highlights the safety risks created when engine failures trigger secondary damage to the cabin. The BBC noted that the engine had undergone ultrasonic inspections in May, with no faults found, and that Ryanair’s chief executive had earlier raised the possibility of foreign object damage.