Passenger nearly sucked out of window of Malta Air-operated Ryanair flight
Passengers pulled the man back inside after a window detached shortly after take-off en route from Greece to Germany
Updated 5pm
A man was nearly sucked out the window of a Ryanair flight operated by Malta Air when it "detached" mid-air en route to Germany, with other passengers pulling him back inside, witnesses and officials said Friday.
The passenger, described as a tourist in his 60s from Serbia on a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany, was "left hanging head first out of the window as far as his shoulders for several minutes, before other passengers on the flight managed to pull him back inside", according to a BBC news report.
He has been hospitalised with friction burns but was otherwise in good condition, authorities said.
The incident happened on a Ryanair flight FR1879 operated by Malta Air using a Boeing 737-8AS aircraft. BBC reported it is believed the plane is 18 years old.
"Most of us had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. There was a noise, like a tyre bursting," a fellow passenger told Radio Thessaloniki.
"We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams ... for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door," the woman said.
"The masks dropped and there was a strong smell. The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn't taken off his seat belt."
Other passengers near the man helped to pull him in, she said.
Greek media reported the incident had occurred over North Macedonia, and said the window had been broken by a piece of debris that detached from one of the plane's engines.
Ryanair in a statement said the flight "returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window detached during the flight. The aircraft landed normally and the passengers returned to the terminal."
A replacement aircraft was made available to transport the remaining passengers to Memmingen, the Irish carrier said.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) told the BBC that it "is aware of the incident involving a Ryanair group aircraft, registered and operated by Malta Air, departing Thessaloniki this morning".
"The IAA will provide any requested assistance to the aviation safety investigation authority in Greece and the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate, to aid their investigation," it said.
In a statement, the Civil Aviation Directorate within Transport Malta confirmed the incident involving an aircraft registered 9H-QUE.
"The relevant Hellenic and Maltese aviation safety investigation authorities have been notified and will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident," the Directorate said in a statement.
"The Civil Aviation Directorate will provide any assistance requested by the competent aviation safety investigation authorities in Greece and Malta, including the Bureau of Air Accident Investigation in support of their investigation."