Smashed the window on Ryanair

Airplane window broke – man was almost sucked out

On Thursday, en route from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, Germany, a 61-year-old man was almost sucked out of the plane window, several media outlets report. A passenger describes to Radio Thessaloniki how a loud noise was heard in the plane and how she then saw the man hanging out of the window with both his head and shoulders before fellow passengers managed to pull him in.

– Thank goodness he had not taken off his seat belt, says the passenger.

The Ryanair plane was forced to turn back to Thessaloniki, but the man escaped with only abrasions. He was taken to hospital after landing.

It is unclear why the window broke. According to several media outlets, it was hit by debris from one of the engines.

Expert on flight drama: “Basically never happens”

The case where a 61-year-old man was sucked out through a broken airplane window during a flight to Germany is “extremely” unusual. That’s what Niclas Friberg, an aviation technical inspector at the Swedish Transport Agency, tells SvD.

– It basically never happens. There’s absolutely no need to worry about this, he says.

What caused the window to break is unclear. According to SvD, there is information that debris that came loose from one of the engines hit the window.

If that’s true, it’s “maximum bad luck,” according to Friberg.

He emphasizes that there shouldn’t be any loose objects or “debris” in the engines and that they undergo thorough checks before each flight.

– I’m actually surprised. If it’s a small object that has come loose and hit a cabin window, it’s maximum bad luck, he says.