In brief
During a summer flight from Greece to Germany, an engine fan blade detached, splintering into fragments that smashed a cabin window. The resulting hole sucked the head and right shoulder of passenger Ljubisa Karović out of the aircraft. The crew returned to Thessaloniki and landed safely; the incident was investigated by the NTSB and the Greek authorities. The flight crew had detected high vibrations, reduced power, and only later heard a loud bang. Ryanair and its Malta Air subsidiary are reviewing the incident as part of ongoing safety checks.
A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen lost a fan blade over the wing on July 10, sending pieces into the cabin and puncturing a window panel. The blast tore a hole that sucked the head and right shoulder of Serbian national Ljubisa Karović out of the aircraft, leaving him seriously injured and in shock.
Flight crews detected high engine vibrations during climb, reduced thrust and performed checks once the vibration ceased. When the vibration returned and the crew heard a clang, they declared an emergency and began descent, landing safely back at SKG.
The NTSB led the investigation, with the Greek Civil Aviation Authority delegating full inquiry duties. The report noted smoke, oxygen masks deployed, and passengers calling for help as one lay partially in the damaged window. Ultrasound inspections earlier in the year had found no fault, but the incident was tagged as possible foreign‑object damage by Ryanair’s CEO.
Ryanair’s Malta Air operated the aircraft. The lesson for airlines is that a single engine failure can cascade into a full‑flight crisis if containment of fan‑blade fragments is not guaranteed.
