Friday, August 14, 2026 -A terrifying mid-air incident on a Ryanair flight has been traced to broken engine parts that smashed a cabin window, according to a preliminary report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
On July 10, a fan blade broke apart in the right engine of a Boeing 737-800 shortly after the aircraft left Thessaloniki, Greece, for Memmingen, Germany. Debris struck the fuselage and shattered a window beside 61-year-old Serbian passenger Ljubisa Karović, causing his head and part of his upper body to be pulled through the opening.
Karović was rescued by fellow passengers after losing consciousness, while the cabin rapidly lost pressure and oxygen masks dropped from above. The pilots immediately began an emergency descent and returned the aircraft to Thessaloniki, where the injured passenger received medical attention.
Investigators found fractured fan blades and bird remains inside the engine, while records showed the aircraft's engine had experienced four suspected bird strikes during the previous year. The investigation is still examining exactly what caused the blade to fail.
The incident is raising fresh questions about aviation safety because the aircraft had not yet received certain engine-housing reinforcements required under U.S. safety directives following similar accidents.
The NTSB has taken the lead in the investigation, with Ryanair, Boeing and engine manufacturer CFM International cooperating. No final conclusions have been reached, but the frightening episode is putting renewed attention on engine inspections, bird-strike risks and measures designed to prevent engine debris from penetrating an aircraft cabin.
0 Comments