Ryanair Flight Incident: Passenger Partially Ejected Through Window

On July 10, Ryanair flight FR1879 departed Thessaloniki for Memmingen in a Boeing 737-800. A fragment of the right-hand engine detached shortly after take-off, struck an acrylic window and shattered it. The breach caused an explosive decompression at roughly 15,000 ft; the pressure drop pulled 61-year-old Ljubisa Karovic head-first toward the opening. His wife, Svetlana Grkovic, and two other passengers held his legs and used a suitcase to block the window, preventing full ejection. The aircraft descended to about 6,000 ft, burned fuel for roughly 30 minutes, and returned safely to Thessaloniki, where Karovic was hospitalized for neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns. The NTSB is leading the investigation, with the FAA confirming the engine-fragment impact.

RTE (Radio Television of Ireland)

The incident echoes the 2018 Southwest Airlines Flight WN-1380, in which an engine-cowl failure also struck a cabin window and partially ejected a passenger. Both events have prompted the FAA to re-evaluate design standards for engine cowls on Boeing 737 NG aircraft.

Ryanair Says ‘Foreign Object’ May Have Been Responsible For Smashed Window That Partially Sucked a Passenger Out

• Aircraft age: 18 years.

Fox Business (website)

• Engine overhaul: completed within the last two years.

DublinLive

• Flight altitude at breach: ?15,000 ft; descent to ?6,000 ft (Flightradar24).

KCPQ - Fox 13 - Seattle

• Time at low altitude for fuel burn: ?30 minutes (Flightradar24).

KCPQ - Fox 13 - Seattle

• Injuries: neck and shoulder trauma, friction burns; Karovic required a neck brace for at least six weeks.

The Guardian

• A draft incident report is expected in about 28 days (deadline July 20).

DublinLive

• Neil Sorahan, Ryanair CFO, said the crew performed a “phenomenal job” and that the airline is in active contact with the family.

The Guardian

• Eddie Wilson, Ryanair chief executive, emphasized that all passengers and crew were belted and that the airline will fully cooperate with the NTSB.

DublinLive

• The NTSB confirmed it is leading the probe and will conduct an independent investigation.

Passenger partly sucked out of Ryanair’s Boeing 737-800 plane after cabin window dislodges

Vasilis Tsiaras, legal adviser for the Karovic family, contended that cabin crew offered no assistance, leaving passengers to rescue the man. Ryanair rebutted, maintaining that crew followed safety protocols, fastened seatbelts, and deployed oxygen masks as required.

The Guardian

• Crew assistance: Ryanair’s narrative praises cabin crew actions, while the family’s lawyer alleges crew inaction.

The Guardian

• Cause of damage: Preliminary comments point to a foreign object striking the engine, yet investigators have not confirmed whether debris or an internal engine failure initiated the window breach.

Ryanair Says ‘Foreign Object’ May Have Been Responsible For Smashed Window That Partially Sucked a Passenger Out

• “Initial indication would suggest it looks like a foreign object damage to the engine on takeoff at Thessaloniki, but we don't have, we can't say that definitively,” — Michael O'Leary, Ryanair CEO

Fox Business (website)

• “Our crew did a phenomenal job and got the aircraft back to Thessaloniki. Everyone bar none walked off the aircraft. It was a great job done by the cabin crew and the pilots.” — Neil Sorahan, Ryanair CFO

The Guardian

Ryanair expects to release a draft incident report by the July 20 deadline. The NTSB will continue its independent investigation, and any safety recommendations will be communicated to Ryanair and Boeing.

The Guardian