A Ryanair passenger partially jumped out of a Boeing 737 window recounts a near-death experience
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A Ryanair passenger who was partially ejected from a Boeing 737 when a window was smashed during the flight earlier this month has told of his terrifying experience, saying he is lucky to be alive.
Ljubisa Karović, 61, was on a Ryanair flight operated by Malta Air from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, on July 10 when debris believed to be from the damaged plane's engine hit and shattered a window shortly after takeoff.
The plane lost cabin pressure and was forced to make an emergency return to Thessaloniki. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Monday that preliminary results indicated the engine may have been “damaged elsewhere,” although the cause was still under investigation.
Karović, a Serbian businessman, told The Guardian that it was the moments before “chaos, disaster” that kept him up at night.
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Ljubisa Karović, 61, was on a Ryanair flight operated by Malta Air from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, when debris believed to be from the damaged plane's engine hit and shattered the window. (Reuters/Alexandros Avramidis/File Photo/Reuters Images)
“The explosion is what I remember,” Karović told the outlet. “It's a sound that hasn't been made into chaos, a sound that's always there when I close my eyes to sleep.”
“They told me that I fainted twice and again inside the plane and that my face was swollen and paralyzed from the pressure, the rush of air,” he continued.
Karović managed to escape death after his wife and other passengers grabbed him and brought him back inside the plane.
His wife, Svetlana, was sitting three rows back when she ran to grab her husband, who she said was “in the middle of getting off the plane” for about two minutes.
“No one is helping the crew. It was the passengers,” he said. “The other man, I think he was Albanian, was amazing. He did everything he could to get him in and then he tried to close the window, first he put in a bag that was quickly absorbed and then he carried a suitcase, it worked. We are forever grateful.”
Ryanair has disputed the suggestion that the crew failed to respond appropriately. The airline told The Guardian that during the emergency and rapid descent, all passengers and crew had to sit down and wear oxygen masks, adding that the crew visited Karović and arranged for medical assistance when the plane landed safely. Investigators have not publicly clarified whether all required personnel procedures were followed.
A broken window on a Ryanair flight following an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, Greece, on July 10, 2026. (Despoina Papapavlou via REUTERS/Reuters Images)
Karović was hospitalized after suffering neck and shoulder injuries as well as burns from the collision. Doctors have told Karović that his recovery will be slow and that he will have to wear a neck brace for the next six weeks, at which point a decision will be made as to whether surgery is necessary.
“I'm lucky,” Karović said. “I don't remember much, my head and neck still hurt, but I'm still alive.”
Karović said that his belt may have saved him from being pulled out of the window completely, although he did not remove other items.
“It could be the belt, the fact that I'm still under arrest,” said Karović. “But maybe the future.”
“I believe in God and I thank him every day,” he added.
Karović's lawyer, Vasilis Tsiaras, said the man is “living by mistake.”
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The interior of a Ryanair flight after an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, Greece, on July 10, 2026. (Despoina Papapavlou via REUTERS/Reuters Images)
“Ljubisa drowned from death,” said Tsiaras. “When the cabin lost pressure, he was thrown from the window from the chest up and immediately lost consciousness. At 15,000 meters, he ended up throwing his head and right arm out of the plane as it was traveling at a speed of more than 600km/h. [373 mph]. Just imagine!”
“He looked at death, that other world, he came back,” said the lawyer.
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Flight records show the plane, which was delivered new to Ryanair in 2008, was climbing past 15,000 feet for about six minutes after takeoff before descending to about 6,000 feet. The plane stayed low for about 30 minutes to refuel before returning to Thessaloniki about an hour later, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation after Greece's Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority referred an investigation to the US agency. Greek investigators are also involved.
