Ryanair Passenger Survives Harrowing Near-exit Experience
WHO:
Fox Business - Ljubisa Karović, 61, a Serbian entrepreneur, was a passenger on the Ryanair flight.
Fox Business - Svetlana Karović, Ljubisa's wife, was seated three rows behind him.
Fox Business - Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, commented on the incident.
The Guardian - Vasilis Tsiaras, Karović’s lawyer, described the situation.
WHAT:
Fox Business - Ljubisa Karović stated, "The explosion is what I remember," referring to the moment before he was nearly sucked out of the aircraft.
The Guardian - Karović described the noise before the chaos as "the noise that is always there when I close my eyes to sleep."
The Guardian - Karović's lawyer, Vasilis Tsiaras, claimed that Karović "dipped in and out of death" during the incident.
The Guardian - Tsiaras noted that Karović was "hurled out of the window from his chest up" and lost consciousness immediately.
The Guardian - The unbearable moments of seeing Karović "half in and out of the plane" lasted between one-and-a-half and two minutes.
The Guardian - Doctors warned Karović that his recovery will be slow, and he must wear a neck brace for at least six weeks, at which point a determination will be made about whether surgery is necessary.
Fox Business - Karović was partly pulled out of a Boeing 737 when a window was smashed during the flight.
Fox Business - The flight lost cabin pressure and made an emergency return to Thessaloniki.
The Guardian - Karović suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns.
The Guardian - Karović was hospitalized and must wear a neck brace for six weeks.
WHERE:
Fox Business - The flight was from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany.
Fox Business - The incident occurred on a Ryanair flight operated by Malta Air.
WHEN:
Fox Business - The incident occurred on July 10.
Fox Business - The aircraft was delivered new to Ryanair in 2008.
The Guardian - Karović was discharged from the hospital 100 hours prior to the article's publication.
WHY:
Fox Business - Preliminary findings suggested the engine may have suffered "foreign-object damage."
The Guardian - Witnesses claimed the cabin crew was in a state of shock during the incident.
HOW:
The Guardian - Ryanair stated that their cabin crew attended to Karović and arranged medical assistance once the aircraft descended to a safe altitude.
Fox Business - Debris from the aircraft’s damaged engine struck and shattered a window shortly after departure.
Fox Business - Passengers, including Karović's wife, helped pull him back inside the aircraft.
The Guardian - Ryanair stated that during depressurization, all passengers and crew were required to stay seated and put on oxygen masks.
(UPDATED July 22, 2026 14:43 UTC)
Ljubisa Karović recounted the terrifying moment of an explosion that nearly ejected him from an aircraft, describing the noise leading up to the chaos as something that haunts him even in his sleep. His lawyer, Vasilis Tsiaras, revealed that Karović experienced a harrowing ordeal, being "hurled out of the window from his chest up" and losing consciousness for a period of one-and-a-half to two minutes. After the incident, Ryanair confirmed that their cabin crew provided immediate medical assistance once the plane reached a safe altitude, but doctors have cautioned Karović that his recovery will be slow, requiring him to wear a neck brace for at least six weeks before assessing the need for surgery.
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(UPDATED July 22, 2026 13:27 UTC)
A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen experienced a serious incident when debris from the aircraft's damaged engine shattered a window, partially pulling passenger Ljubisa Karović out of the plane. Karović, who suffered neck and shoulder injuries along with friction burns, was hospitalized and is now required to wear a neck brace for six weeks. Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary has commented on the situation, while preliminary findings suggest that the engine may have suffered "foreign-object damage," and witnesses reported that the cabin crew appeared to be in shock during the emergency.