THESSALONIKI, Greece: Svetlana Maksimovic and her husband Ljubisa Karovic had just settled into a Ryanair flight last week when a loud bang pierced the hum of engines. Within seconds, she saw her 61-year-old husband being sucked out of the plane through a dislodged cabin window.
In what Greek officials have described as a rare incident, Karovic, sitting in a window seat, was pulled through the window as his wife and others held on to him on the flight between the Greek city of Thessaloniki and Germany on Jul 10.
“I’ve never heard anything louder in my life before. I just (then ) turned around and saw that part of his body had already gone out the window,” Maksimovic told Reuters. His head and right arm were hanging out, she said.
Greek media and airport sources said that most likely a piece of engine broke off and smashed a window early in the flight, causing the cabin to decompress.
Boeing has said it was assisting the investigation led by North Macedonia, over which the incident occurred. The US National Transportation Safety Board and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency are involved in the probe. A Greek prosecutor has launched a probe into the case, while Greek air accident investigators are also looking into it. The aircraft is still in Greece.
Karovic is now being treated in hospital in Thessaloniki with severe neck and arm injuries, Maksimovic said.
The couple have hired a lawyer. “What happened was extremely serious,” said the couple’s legal adviser, Vassilis Tsiaras, adding that the pending results of the probe were pivotal.
Ryanair, which has confirmed that a window dislodged during the flight, said it would not comment further while the incident is under formal investigation.