On 10 July a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen suffered an engine failure that ripped a cabin window and pulled a passenger’s head and right shoulder into the opening.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report identified a fan‑blade failure of the right engine during climb‑out as the cause. A loud bang prompted the crew to declare an emergency and return to the airport, but the damage had already occurred.
Serbian national Ljubisa Karović was left seriously injured and in shock, with his head and shoulder held in by fellow passengers for several minutes while the crew managed the situation. The incident highlights risks from engine blade fatigue and possible foreign‑object damage, a concern recently mentioned by Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary.
The aircraft, operated by Ryanair’s Malta Air subsidiary, had undergone ultrasonic inspections in May that reported no faults. The NTSB investigators will now conduct a deeper probe into the failure mechanism.
