A Ryanair plane experienced a terrifying incident when a window shattered shortly after takeoff from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on July 10. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), broken engine parts caused the window to break, and a 61-year-old man’s head was partially sucked out of the plane before fellow passengers pulled him to safety.
Investigation Findings
The NTSB found that the engine’s fan blades had undergone ultrasonic inspections in May 2026 and November 2025 without finding any damage. However, the agency noted that four suspected bird strikes to the same engine had been reported by flight crews over the past year, with bird remains found after two of those incidents.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, was operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair. The flight attendants reported hearing and feeling loud continuous vibration and seeing smoke or fog inside the cabin before the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.
Passengers helped the injured man, who suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns, by pulling him back into the cabin. A doctor on board tended to the man, and other passengers used a metal box to block the broken window until the plane could land.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
