In what can only be described as a Final Destination-esque turn of events, a 61-year-old Serbian man was sucked out of an airplane from the window seat after a passenger window smashed in air.
The incident happened on a Ryanair 737 NG flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany taking off at 5:53 AM, what turned out to be an hour later was almost disastrous.
What Happened Inside Ryanair Boeing 737 NG?
Investigation reports and witnesses have claimed that the man was sucked out of the plane window in the air at the height ranging between 15,000 to 20,000 feet. Most of the passengers had fallen asleep and had their eyes closed. Then there was a sudden noise. “It felt like a tire bursting”, a traveller commented. Passengers soon realized that some mishap had people nearby the man were screaming.
Witnesses also accounted that suddenly the masks dropped and a strong smell filled the air in the airplane. The passengers then realized that the man’s head and shoulders were outside the plane. Silver lining, he hadn’t taken his seat belt off. Witnesses noted that most had observed the decompression inside the cabin caused by the broken window of the plane. This immediately caused panic among passengers.
The man’s wife and nearby passengers came to rescue him and held him for five minutes, putting in every effort to keep him safe and inside the plane. Since the head was completely out of the window for a few minutes, he endured friction burns and head & neck injuries.
A Man in Air, Flight Engine Compromised & Panicked Passengers
In preliminary findings, the right engine of the Boeing 737 was found to be compromised and experienced mechanical failure, causing the incident.
Greek media reported that the window is believed to have been struck by debris that came off the right engine and hit one of the passenger windows. One of the passengers explained that they heard a loud bang which caused the plane’s glass to shatter, causing decompression inside the cabin.
Ryanair, in a statement, said that they immediately returned the flight to Thessaloniki after reporting ‘a passenger window dislodged inflight’. They added that the plane landed safely and all the passengers were safely returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received immediate medical assistance. Later, a different flight was arranged for the passengers to fly back to Germany.
Ryanair is an Irish airline that provides some of the cheapest flight tickets in Europe. Any country-to-country travel can sometimes cost as low as $100. This is particularly effective for those who have a tight budget but don’t really want to partake in a train ride or a long drive.
Although passengers have now reached their destinations safely and the man has been rescued first by a ‘seat-belt’ and then by his wife and passengers, Internet is shook with the terrible turn of events mid-air.
