Passenger's head and shoulders stuck out of window on flight from Greece: report – National
A passenger on a flight operated by Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air was partially ejected from a broken window shortly after takeoff from Thessaloniki, Greece, on Friday, Reuters and the Associated Press reported, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.
The flight was due to fly from Thessaloniki to Memmingen Airport near Munich in Germany but returned to Thessaloniki on Friday morning “when the passenger window blew out,” Ryanair said in a statement carried by British media.
“The flight landed normally, passengers returned to the terminal,” Ryanair said.
The passenger, 61, suffered neck and shoulder injuries and burns from the collision, according to a Greek hospital official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
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Global News reached out to the airline to independently verify the information but did not receive a response by press time.
Local media in Greece reported that a piece of the plane broke off a window shortly after takeoff on Friday, causing the oxygen masks to come down and suck the head and shoulders of one passenger through the window.
Two airport sources with knowledge of the incident reported similar details to Reuters, it said. The BBC and The Guardian also reported that information. Ryanair told Reuters it was unclear what caused the broken window.
Passengers also told Greek media that they heard a loud noise, that the oxygen mask came off and that the plane began to descend, the Associated Press said.
“Most of the people were sleeping, we had our eyes closed. We heard a sound, I can describe it as a tire exploding, … but very loud,” the passenger, identified by the AP as Christina, told Thessaloniki radio.
“We knew from the start that we lost pressure because we lost altitude. … Screaming, screaming, shouting,” he added.
Unverified videos circulating on social media from inside the plane showed a broken window and oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling.
FlightRadar24 showed a Boeing 737 NG en route to Memmingen diverted back to Thessaloniki on Friday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that a window was broken on Friday's flight and said it is ready to support the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) and the NTSB in the investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board, an American organization that investigates plane crashes and other major travel incidents, said it had been informed that the plane had to return due to “proper engine problems and cabin deterioration.”
A Greek airport source told Reuters the plane was still on the ground in Thessaloniki while investigators looked into the incident.
Flight records show the plane crossed 15,000 feet about six minutes after takeoff, then quickly descended to 6,000 feet before returning to Thessaloniki about an hour after takeoff, Flightradar24 said.
– via files from Reuters and the Associated Press
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