A passenger was nearly sucked out of a plane mid-flight after a window shattered. However, at the last moment, his wife saved him from certain death by firmly gripping his legs, with assistance from other passengers. The incident occurred last Friday on a Ryanair flight traveling from Greece to Germany.
At the time, a sudden drop in cabin air pressure caused the aircraft to descend nearly 9,000 feet, sparking panic among the passengers.
Svetlana Grkovic was traveling with her husband, Ljubisa Karovic, from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany. She told the Greek state broadcaster ERT that her husband was left dangling halfway out of the plane for about two minutes.
“His survival is what matters most to me. His hands are severely injured, and he has burn wounds on his body. He cannot speak right now, and he has no memory of the incident.”
— Svetlana Grkovic (Wife of the victim)
Grkovic told Serbian media, “I immediately grabbed his legs. I thought, if we die, we die together.” She mentioned that her husband lost consciousness three times, but with the help of two other passengers, she managed to pull him back inside the aircraft.
Grkovic added, “The young woman sitting next to him was holding his hand. The three of us were pulling him inward. At that moment, the oxygen masks dropped down, and there was utter chaos all around.”
Grkovic further stated that it appeared a piece of the aircraft’s engine had broken off and struck the window next to her husband. This shattered the window and caused a sudden drop in cabin air pressure. Other passengers also reported hearing a loud noise resembling an explosion. An expert appointed by the victim’s family to investigate the incident stated that the event was triggered by the failure of the aircraft’s right engine. Debris ejected from the engine struck and shattered a cabin window, causing a rapid drop in cabin air pressure. However, investigators have not yet confirmed the validity of this claim.
Earlier, passengers told local media that Karovich was wearing his seatbelt. Consequently, even though his head and shoulders were pulled outside the aircraft, other passengers were able to hold onto him. Svetlana Grkovich stated that her 61-year-old husband sustained serious injuries and is suffering from severe psychological trauma.
Svetlana Grkovich said, “The fact that he survived is what matters most to me. His arm is severely injured, and he has burn wounds on his body. He cannot speak right now, and he does not remember the incident at all.”
Grkovich added, “He starts trembling whenever the subject of the flight comes up. My own mental state is also very poor. We didn’t think we would make it back alive; I felt like the plane was going to crash.”
According to flight tracking data, the Ryanair aircraft suddenly dropped 9,000 feet (2,700 meters) about 10 minutes after takeoff. In a statement, Ryanair confirmed that a window on a flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen shattered mid-air last Friday morning. The aircraft subsequently turned back instead of proceeding to its destination.
The Irish airline stated that the aircraft landed normally and passengers were returned to the terminal. After landing in Thessaloniki, one passenger requested medical attention and received immediate treatment.
A passenger named Christina told Radio Thessaloniki, “We realized immediately that the cabin pressure had dropped. People were screaming all around.” “For a moment, I thought someone might have accidentally opened the emergency exit.”
Another passenger, named Sofia, told Radio Thessaloniki, “We thought the plane was going to crash. The cabin pressure dropped drastically, and we were struggling to breathe. The injured person was bleeding; he lost consciousness several times due to the lack of oxygen and sheer panic.”
According to local media reports, the aircraft is 18 years old. 61-year-old Ljubisa Karovic is still undergoing treatment in the hospital. An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. The aircraft is a US-made Boeing 737-800. As the incident occurred in North Macedonia’s airspace, investigators from various international aviation authorities are assisting with the inquiry.
