Incident Overview
On Friday, July 10, 2026, a 61-year-old male passenger was partially sucked out of a dislodged window on a Ryanair flight shortly after takeoff from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany. Fellow passengers pulled him back inside, and the aircraft returned to Thessaloniki.
Details of the Event
The flight was operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair, Europe's largest budget carrier. According to a Greek hospital official speaking on condition of anonymity, the passenger suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns. It was not immediately clear if he remained hospitalized later Friday.
Passengers reported hearing a loud bang, oxygen masks deploying, and the plane losing altitude. One passenger, identified only as Christina, told Radio Thessaloniki that the man's "whole head, neck, shoulders" were pulled out of the window. She added that those seated near him pulled him back in. "Most people had fallen asleep ... We heard a sound, I'd describe it like a tire bursting ... but very loud," she said, noting that passengers screamed and shouted.
Airline and Regulatory Response
Ryanair stated that the flight "returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged in-flight." The airline did not specify the cause. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was notified that the flight turned back due to "a right engine issue and cabin decompression." Ryanair did not respond to a request for comment on the engine issue. The NTSB is not leading the investigation but is available to assist.
Expert Analysis
Shye Gilad, a former airline pilot and instructor at Georgetown University's business school, emphasized the importance of keeping seatbelts fastened. "The seatbelt can help in those first few seconds. It's a difference maker," he said, noting that rapid decompression can create powerful suction but such events are "very rare" because "it takes a lot to breach a cabin."
Aircraft and Flight Data
The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800, delivered new to Ryanair in 2008, according to Flightradar24. Flight records show the plane climbed past 15,000 feet (4,570 meters) about six minutes after departure, then immediately descended to about 6,000 feet (1,830 meters) to burn fuel for 30 minutes before returning to Thessaloniki about an hour after takeoff. The plane landed normally, and one passenger received medical assistance on the ground. A replacement aircraft later flew passengers to Germany.
