Wife describes saving husband sucked through Ryanair plane window

A Serbian woman described gripping her husband’s legs as he was partially sucked out of a Ryanair plane window during a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, in a harrowing incident that left the 61-year-old man seriously injured and the airline investigating safety protocols.

The ordeal unfolded on July 10, 2026, when debris from a failing engine struck the cabin window of the Boeing 737-800 operated by Ryanair’s subsidiary Malta Air. Ljubisa Karović, 61, was seated near the affected window when the shattering glass triggered rapid cabin decompression. His wife, Svetlana Grković, recounted how she immediately grabbed his legs as he was “outside up to his chest” for two minutes, vowing, “If we die, we die together.”

Grković, speaking to Serbian outlet Nova, described the chaos that followed. “The pressure pulled Ljubisa. Luckily he was strapped in, but half of his body was sticking out of the plane,” she said. With the help of two fellow passengers, she and others managed to pull him back into the cabin as oxygen masks deployed and screams echoed through the aircraft. Karović lost consciousness multiple times during the incident and remains in hospital in Greece, suffering from severe burns, fractured hands, and psychological trauma. “It’s important to me that he’s alive,” she said. “His hand is particularly badly injured, and he’s got burns. He’s not able to communicate, he doesn’t remember the whole event.”

Passengers reported hearing a “deafening bang” moments after takeoff, followed by panic as the cabin depressurized. One traveler told Greek radio that the man’s “head and shoulders were sticking out of the broken window,” while another recalled thinking the plane was “going down.” The flight, which had been airborne for about 10 minutes, dropped 9,000 feet before turning back to Thessaloniki. It landed safely, though one passenger—Karović—required immediate medical attention, and a pregnant woman was also hospitalized as a precaution.

Ryanair confirmed the incident in a statement, noting that the flight “returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged in flight.” The airline arranged a replacement aircraft to transport remaining passengers to Germany but did not specify the cause of the window failure. A technical investigation is underway, with authorities from Greece, Malta, and the U.S. involved. The incident has raised questions about the safety of aging aircraft, as the plane in question was an 18-year-old Boeing 737-800.

Grković praised the “Albanian man” who assisted her during the crisis, though she admitted she could not recall his name. “I would like to meet him to thank him personally again,” she said. She also expressed lingering fear, describing moments of suffocation and a lingering dread of flying. “Now the question is whether we will ever get on a plane again,” she added.

The incident echoes a 2018 tragedy involving a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737, where a fan blade failure caused a window to shatter, fatally injuring a passenger. Following that event, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board ordered Boeing to redesign engine casings. While Ryanair has not commented on whether similar measures apply to its fleet, the current incident has intensified scrutiny of aircraft maintenance protocols.

Thessaloniki airport’s operator, Fraport Greece, stated the incident is under investigation by the Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority. Meanwhile, Karović’s condition remains critical, with reports indicating he is unable to communicate and suffers from severe shock. His wife, however, emphasized the importance of his survival. “It’s important to me that he’s alive,” she said. “His hand is particularly badly injured, and he’s got burns. He’s not able to communicate, he doesn’t remember the whole event.”

As the investigation continues, the incident has reignited debates over airline safety standards and the risks posed by aging aircraft. For Grković and the other passengers, the trauma of the event lingers, a stark reminder of the fragility of air travel. “It was horrible,” she said. “I will never forget it.”