In brief
During a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, a 737‑800’s right-side window blew out after a suspected engine failure, causing rapid decompression that left a passenger’s head and shoulders outside the cabin. His wife, Svetlana Grković Maksimović, holds the wreckage in the memories, describing her panic and the heroic rescue by fellow passengers. The injury remains severe, with the 61‑year‑old husband in hospital and unable to fully recall the event. Multiple aviation authorities—including the Hellenic Safety Investigation Authority, FAA, EASA and Boeing—are investigating the incident, while Ryanair has confirmed an emergency landing shortly after take‑off.
The alarm bells went off after Ryanair’s 737‑800 was hit by a sudden cabin decompression, leaving a passenger’s right shoulder and head floating out of a forward window.
Svetlana Grković Maksimović, who was seated beside her husband Ljubisa Karović, told BBC Serbia that two other passengers rushed in to catch the man, who was in shock and bleeding.
“We pulled him back together,” she recalled, adding that her heart raced with “If we die, we die together.” She described how the incident began with a probable engine failure that shattered the cabin wall and triggered an explosion‑like sound.
Karović, 61, reportedly received emergency medical aid, but he is still hospitalized and unable to fully recall the event because of shock and oxygen loss. His hand suffered serious burns and he is unable to speak.
Ryanair issued a statement that the plane made an emergency landing shortly after take‑off, and that passengers were cleared from the terminal. The Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority and multiple international agencies—including Boeing, FAA and EASA—have been involved.
Maksimović said she could not stop reliving the moment, and she fears that flying would never feel safe again. The incident highlights how a single mechanical failure can endanger thousands.
