Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, has downplayed an incident on one of the airline’s flights where a man was reportedly pulled towards a shattered window mid-flight. O’Leary clarified that the passenger was not actually sucked out of the plane, which was operated by Ryanair’s subsidiary Malta Air.
During the unsettling event, O’Leary described how the window shattered, leading to oxygen masks deployment and the pilots swiftly descending to a non-pressurized altitude, causing distress for all passengers onboard. O’Leary extended apologies to the affected passenger seated in row 11F and dismissed claims of him being sucked out of the window as baseless.
The incident involved 61-year-old Ljubisa Karović from Serbia, who was jolted awake on flight FR1879 from Greece to Germany when the window shattered, causing objects to fly out and passengers to struggle to keep him in his seat. Karović suffered burns and bruises on his right arm, extending from his armpit to his chest, and now requires neck support.
Karović narrated the chaos, recalling the deafening explosion and the harrowing experience of being partially pulled out of the window before regaining consciousness. His wife, Svetlana Grković, witnessed the ordeal from a few rows back, where passengers rallied to stabilize her husband and even used items to block the window breach.
Following the emergency landing, Karović was promptly taken to a hospital for treatment, but he continues to endure pain from the incident. His lawyer, Vasilis Tsiaras, described Karović’s survival as miraculous, emphasizing the gravity of the situation and the near-death experience he faced during the flight.
O’Leary mentioned the increasing number of legal claims arising from the incident, indicating that the airline will address these matters in due course.
