A Ryanair plane’s window shattered shortly after takeoff in Greece last month, causing a man’s head to be sucked into the hole in the fuselage before his fellow passengers pulled him to safety, U.S. investigators said Thursday.
Incident Details
The incident happened on July 10 when the flight took off from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it found bird remains inside the engine, suggesting the plane may have struck birds as it took off.
The 61-year-old man who was nearly sucked out of the plane suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns before his fellow passenger pulled him back inside the Boeing 737-800. Panicked passengers helped the man after the window broke, and flight attendants tended to him until the plane landed.
Investigation
The NTSB said the engine’s fan blades were inspected in May and November 2025 without finding damage. However, four suspected bird strikes to the same engine had been reported by the flight crews over the past year, with bird remains found after two of those suspected strikes.
The NTSB reprimanded Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary after he told investors last month that the investigation was focused on foreign object damage and not the plane’s age or maintenance history. The NTSB said investigators hadn’t ruled anything out and O’Leary wasn’t authorized to discuss it.
Original reporting: WPBF (Treasure Coast / Hearst) — read the source article.
