Passenger nearly sucked out after Ryanair window shatters

A passenger was nearly sucked out of a commercial airliner after a window shattered mid-flight, an ordeal his wife described as a desperate struggle to save his life. The incident occurred on Friday, July 10, 2026, aboard a Ryanair flight operated by its subsidiary Malta Air, traveling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany.

Svetlana Grković, the wife of 61-year-old Ljubiša Karović, provided a harrowing account of the emergency. She said a loud bang occurred shortly after takeoff, which Greek media and airport sources attributed to a piece of engine debris striking and shattering the window next to her husband. The resulting cabin decompression violently pulled Karović toward the opening.

Grković said her husband was partially pulled out of the aircraft, with his head and shoulders outside the plane. She immediately grabbed his legs, and with the help of two fellow passengers, managed to hold onto him. She recalled thinking during the crisis that if they were to die, they would die together. Karović lost consciousness multiple times during the event, which lasted for several minutes as the aircraft returned to Thessaloniki.

The pilots initiated an emergency descent,...