A Ryanair passenger was injured after being partially sucked through a smashed window, according to witnesses.
The flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, in Germany was returned to Greece this morning following a mid-air engine emergency. Debris from the engine is understood to have hit the window.
After taking off at 5.55am local time in Greece, the pilot noticed a problem with the engine over North Macedonia and decided to return to Thessaloniki.
It was during the descent that part of the damaged engine reportedly detached and struck a cabin window, causing minor injuries to a 61-year-old man from Serbia.
The captain repeatedly shouted “emergency” with the oxygen masks deployed, witnesses said. The plane was at roughly 20,000ft when passengers heard a loud bang.
One passenger told the German Press Agency (dpa) that the window had smashed – which is shown in videos circulating online.
According to BILD, a man seated next to the window was ‘sucked’ through. Another eyewitness told Greek broadcaster ERT: “His head and shoulders were sticking out of the broken window.”
Fellow passengers had to hold the man as he was pulled through the window. A passenger called Christina told Radio Thessaloniki his body was almost up to his shoulders outside the plane, and that his wife was among those holding the man by his feet.
The return journey after the incident took around 20 minutes. The injured passenger was taken by the emergency services to a hospital in Thessaloniki.
He suffered a neck wound from the impact as well as bruising to other parts of his body and was in shock but was conscious, reported De Telegraaf.
A Ryanair statement read: “A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (10 July) returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight. The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal.
“One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki. In order to minimise any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen which departed Thessaloniki at 9:53 local this morning.”
The Mirror has contacted Ryanair.
Source: Mirror
