A passenger on a commercial flight was nearly sucked out of a window that shattered shortly after takeoff.
The scary incident happened on a Ryanair flight traveling from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen Airport in Germany.
According to witnesses, the individual, a Serbian citizen in his 60s, was hanging head first out of the window up to his shoulders.
“According to local media Ryanair flight FR1879, a Boeing 737-8AS, returned safely to Greece on Friday after part of a damaged engine reportedly detached and struck a cabin window. A 61-year-old man, who is from Serbia upon the return of the plane, was taken to AHEPA and will undergo a CT scan to see if he has fractures,” Breaking Aviation News & Videos wrote.
“Speaking about the incident, the president of POEDIN (Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees), stressed that there was almost a tragedy, as a window was broken, the body of a passenger came out in the air and was restrained by his wife. The 61-year-old is currently at AHEPA with friction burns,” it added.
BREAKING: Ryanair passenger reportedly saved from being sucked out the cabin after window fails during a flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen.
According to local media Ryanair flight FR1879, a Boeing 737-8AS, returned safely to Greece on Friday after part of a damaged engine… pic.twitter.com/YPgRodjPFp
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 10, 2026
BBC shared further:
In a statement, Ryanair said its Friday morning flight from the Greek city of Thessaloniki to Germany’s Memmingen returned “shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight”.
It continued: “The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.”
The Irish budget airline added that “a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen” several hours later.
Media reports in Greece and Germany quoted passengers describing a loud bang followed by the window breaking and oxygen masks falling from the ceiling shortly after the Boeing 737 had taken off.
They believe the window was smashed by pieces of the jet’s engine – although Ryanair has not commented on this.
The plane was at an altitude of about 20,000 feet when the window shattered.
One passenger said the noise sounded “like a tire bursting,” according to the New York Post.
Additional footage below:
NEW: Ryanair passenger, 61, nearly sucked out of Greece–Germany flight after damaged engine debris shatters cabin window; suffers friction burns pic.twitter.com/L8cpxF1Ad9
— Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) July 10, 2026
More from the New York Post:
“We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams … for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door,” the passenger said.
ADVERTISEMENT“The masks dropped and there was a strong smell. The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken off his seat belt.”
The passenger was restrained by fellow travelers, Michalis Giannakos, the president of Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees in Greece, told reporters, according to Enikos.
“His wife held him down for five minutes so he wouldn’t get out,” he said.
“With the help of many passengers, they managed to pull him into the cabin.”
What are your thoughts?
