NTSB report: Engine debris smashed Ryanair window, sucking passenger's head out
US investigators say broken engine fan blade fragments smashed a cabin window on a Ryanair flight, causing a passenger's head and shoulder to be sucked out of the resulting hole. The aircraft landed safely back at its departure airport.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary report detailing how debris from a broken engine fan blade smashed a cabin window on a Ryanair-operated flight last month, leading to a passenger being partially pulled out of the aircraft.
The incident occurred on 10 July during a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, when the No. 2 (right) engine suffered a fan-blade-out failure shortly after takeoff. The resulting damage tore open a cabin window, and the force sucked the head and right shoulder of Serbian passenger Ljubisa Karović out through the gap, leaving him seriously injured and in shock.
What happened on board
His wife, Svetlana Grković Maksimović, later told BBC Serbia that she and two other passengers held onto his legs for several minutes to keep him from being pulled further out.
According to the flight crew's account included in the NTSB report, they received a high-vibration engine alert while climbing after takeoff. They reduced engine power and ran checks; when the vibration ceased, they resumed the climb on autopilot. The vibrations then returned and worsened, followed by a loud bang, prompting the crew to declare an emergency and begin descending.
Flight attendants reported feeling the vibrations and seeing a small amount of smoke before oxygen masks deployed. One attendant said passengers were then heard calling for help, having discovered a passenger partially lodged in a cabin window that had been completely blown out.
The crew opted to return to Thessaloniki International Airport, where the plane landed without further incident. The NTSB noted the engine had passed ultrasonic inspections in May with no faults found. Greek authorities delegated the full investigation to the NTSB in the days following the incident.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary earlier suggested the failure may have resulted from foreign object damage to the engine. The flight was operated by Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air.
