Man ‘rescued by wife after nearly being sucked out of window’ on Ryanair flight

A Ryanair passenger was partially sucked out of a broken plane window and had to be held down by wife to stop him falling out during a chaotic flight to Germany on Friday, according to reports.

The Serbian passenger, 61, was pulled through the window up to his shoulders after it suddenly dislodged on the way from Thessaloniki to Memmingen early this morning, witnesses claimed.

”His wife held him down for five minutes so he wouldn't fall out,” said Michalis Giannakos, president of Greek healthcare union POEDIN, adding that the passenger was being treated for friction burns.

“With the help of many passengers, they managed to pull him into the cabin,” he said, according to local media.

A fellow traveller told Radio Thessaloniki that during the flight there was a loud bang on board before the window ruptured. The cabin then depressurised and oxygen masks fell down from the ceiling.

The witness, Christina, told the station that around an hour after takeoff, when most passengers were sleeping, there was a noise “like a tire bursting”.

Another passenger told German outlet Bild that following a loud bang, something smashed against the window, shattering it.

“We immediately understood that there had been decompression because we had lost ground”, Christina said.

“It's what they show in TV series, and we were experiencing it at that moment. Screams, screams.”

She said she noticed some commotion further up the plane and realised some people were trying to hold down a passenger who appeared to be partially outside of the plane.

“Fortunately he hadn't taken off his seat belt. The man had almost gone through the window with his shoulders. His whole head, neck and shoulders were outside the window,” she said.

The pilot returned to Thessaloniki Airport and the passenger was promptly taken to hospital in an ambulance, according to the witness. A second flight then ferried the other passengers to Germany.

Four people were taken to hospital, including one with minor injuries, according to Greek outlet Protothema. The other three were taken in for “precautionary reasons”.

The passenger pulled through the window was conscious, but in a state of shock and under medical supervision, Greek media reported.

Protothema reported that the plane’s engine had suffered a malfunction, citing unnamed sources. Ryanair did not comment on the reports.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (10 July) returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight.

“The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.

“In order to minimise any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen which departed Thessaloniki at 9:53 local this morning.”