Passenger nearly sucked out at 6,000 m on Ryanair flight FR1879 — airline offered only a new ticket, family says

On July 10, on the morning flight FR1879 from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, 61-year-old Serbian Ljubiša Karović was nearly sucked out through a broken window of a Ryanair aircraft at an altitude of about 6,000 meters, his family and eyewitnesses claim. Karović says the only compensation the company offered him was a new plane ticket; he has already hired a lawyer and is seeking substantial financial damages.

How the incident unfolded

According to testimonies, the window next to his seat exploded and shattered while he was sleeping, causing a sudden decompression and partially pulling him out of the plane. Witnesses describe him hanging in a diagonal position while his wife Svetlana and other passengers held his legs to prevent him from falling completely. Karović immediately lost consciousness and does not remember the events.

Karović also described the airline's subsequent behavior as formal. He said: "We received an email only addressed to my son, who booked the tickets. They asked whether we wanted a new flight and how I was. But no one from the company contacted me directly, nor did they call to show any concern." According to the family, no one from Ryanair contacted him personally for two weeks after the incident.

The passenger suffered severe friction burns and bruising on his right arm and chest. After the decompression, the pilot descended the aircraft to a safer altitude, passengers and crew donned oxygen masks, and Karović was pulled back and moved to another seat. The Boeing 737 was forced to return to Thessaloniki, where an ambulance vehicle was waiting. His wife said the crew seemed paralyzed by fear and that the greatest help came from the other passengers: "They looked more frightened than us. Only the passengers helped, they were extraordinarily brave."

The couple is now represented by Greek lawyer Vasilis Tsiaras, who announced a claim for substantial financial compensation and an investigation into the technical condition of the aircraft. He stated: "My client returned from the brink of death and we want to ensure that those responsible are held accountable. This is not just about money, but about establishing the truth about exactly what happened and in what condition the aircraft was." The lawyer also raised serious doubts about the conduct of the crew: "They were paralyzed by fear that the plane would crash and therefore did nothing to assist Mr. Karović while he was hanging outside the aircraft."

Ryanair said it will not make official statements while the investigation is ongoing, but Neil Sorahan, the group’s chief financial officer, posted: "Our customer relations team has been in constant contact with the family since the incident. The crew did an excellent job and safely returned the aircraft to Thessaloniki. All passengers, without exception, disembarked the aircraft by themselves. The cabin crew and pilots did a fantastic job."

The incident is the subject of an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has already inspected the aircraft; a draft report is expected in about four weeks. Karović and his legal team say their goal is both financial compensation and determining the causes and condition of the aircraft.

Photo: press material from the event