A 61-year-old passenger has claimed he was nearly pulled out of a Ryanair aircraft at 15,000ft after a window shattered during the flight, alleging cabin crew failed to step in while fellow travellers fought to keep him alive. The airline has firmly rejected that version of events.
Ljubisa Karovic was on a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany on July 10 when the window beside him reportedly broke in mid-air. The sudden depressurisation partially dragged him out of the plane, according to his account.
His wife, Svetlana Grkovic Maksimovic, and several nearby passengers managed to grab hold of him and keep him from being pulled away, reportedly hanging on for about two minutes before getting him fully back inside the cabin.
It is understood the damage may have happened after part of the aircraft’s engine allegedly came loose and struck the window.
The flight was operated by Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air, and the aircraft returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off. Reuters reported that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it was a Boeing 737 NG, the generation before the current 737 MAX family, while Boeing said it was assisting the investigation.
Ryanair has pushed back against the accusations, insisting its crew responded appropriately and performed a “phenomenal job”.
Karovic said he has not been contacted personally by the airline since the incident.
He said: “All we’ve had is emails to my son, who booked our flights, asking if we want to rebook and asking how I was. But nobody from the company has contacted me directly, not even a phone call to show any concern.”
Ryanair later said its customer care team had been in contact with the family and said the crew did “a phenomenal job” getting the aircraft back to Thessaloniki. The airline also said everyone on board walked off the aircraft safely.
In a statement to The Guardian, the airline said that during the loss of cabin pressure and emergency descent, both passengers and crew were required to remain strapped in and use oxygen masks.
“As soon as the aircraft descended to a safe altitude, our cabin crew attended to and assisted Mr Karovic, moving him to alternate seats [beside his wife] and arranged for a doctor onboard to sit with them until the aircraft landed safely back in Thessaloniki,” the airline said.
“They also arranged to have medical assistance standing by on landing in Thessaloniki.”
Grkovic Maksimovic, who had been sitting a few rows behind her husband, disputed that account and said those on board, not staff, were the ones who acted in the critical moments.
“When we were battling to hold onto Ljubisa, the crew didn’t do anything, they looked more scared than us,” she told the Daily Mail. “It was only the passengers who helped and were brave.”
Karovic said he remembers almost nothing from the ordeal because he lost consciousness very quickly.
According to him, the final thing he can recall is hearing an “ear-splitting bang” before blacking out. He has since been left with severe pain in his neck and shoulder, burns to his face and right hand, and must wear a neck brace for six weeks.
His wife compared the attempt to keep him inside the aircraft to a “tug of war”, saying she was pulling as hard as she could while another force tried to drag him out.
A fellow passenger described as a big, strong man was said to have been instrumental in pulling Karovic back into the cabin. He then reportedly used a bag, followed by a suitcase, to block the broken window.
Other passengers on board also described the chaos that followed. One passenger, Christina, told Radio Thessaloniki that some initially thought an emergency exit had been opened. Another traveller, Sofia, said the decompression created such intense pressure that it felt impossible to breathe.
According to Reuters, the Serbian national was taken to AHEPA University General Hospital in Thessaloniki and was not believed to have life-threatening injuries, though doctors were assessing the extent of the damage. The flight’s other passengers were later able to continue their journey on a replacement aircraft the same day.
Karovic’s lawyer, Vasilis Tsiaras, also criticised the crew’s response, claiming they were too frightened by the belief the plane might crash to offer assistance.
“It seems that the crew were more interested in saving their own lives,” he said. “It was only the actions of the passengers that saved my client.”
The incident is being investigated by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which said it would lead the probe. Boeing has said it is supporting the inquiry.