A passenger was left dangling halfway out of a plane window after a terrifying in-flight emergency, with fellow travelers forced to grab hold of him to stop him falling out of the aircraft.
The drama unfolded aboard a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 flying from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, after a cabin window dislodged shortly after takeoff. The aircraft was forced to turn back and land in Greece.
The plane had climbed to around 20,000 feet when passengers heard a sudden bang. One traveler told Greek state broadcaster ERT that the noise sounded “like a tire bursting” before panic spread through the cabin as the aircraft lost pressure.
A witness told German press agency dpa that a window had shattered, while videos circulating online appeared to show oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling.
According to passenger accounts, the man seated beside the damaged window was pulled toward the opening.
“His head and shoulders were sticking out of the broken window,” another witness told ERT.
The passenger’s wife reportedly held onto his legs for about five minutes while other travelers rushed to help pull him back inside the cabin. A passenger told ERT that the man was fortunate to still be wearing his seat belt during the incident.
The passenger is believed to be a 61-year-old Serbian national. Reports said he suffered injuries, including friction burns, abrasions, and a neck injury, and was hospitalized for further checks.
Aviation accounts citing local media and a hospital union reported that a piece from the aircraft may have detached and struck the window, causing it to break. The cause of the failure has not been officially confirmed.
A Ryanair spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the flight returned to Thessaloniki “shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged inflight.”
“The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal,” the spokesperson said.
“One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.”
The airline said a replacement aircraft was arranged to take passengers onward to Germany later that morning.
A pregnant passenger on board was also taken to the hospital, but was later reported to be in good health and was released.
