US and European aviation regulators have launched an investigation into an incident that almost ended in disaster during a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany. During the flight, one of the windows in the plane's cabin tore from its mountings, posing a threat to the passenger sitting next to it. This is reported by Bloomberg.
After the emergency landing, the injured passenger was taken to the hospital with shock and cold burns, according to The Guardian and CNN.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) reported that it is cooperating with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in investigating an incident involving a Boeing 737 aircraft equipped with CFM International engines.
The aircraft, operated by Ryanair's subsidiary Malta Air, made an emergency landing on Friday, July 10, after one of the cabin windows blew out shortly after takeoff from Thessaloniki. It is preliminarily believed that an engine malfunction could have been the cause: a turbine fragment broke off and hit the window.
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According to the Greek agency Athens News Agency, one of the passengers was partially sucked out of the blown-out window. He was held by his seatbelt and other passengers.
The US Federal Aviation Administration has not yet commented on the event. Ryanair, on the other hand, declined to comment further, referring to their Friday statement in which they reported that one passenger required medical attention after the emergency landing.
According to Greek state broadcaster ERT, part of the engine broke off during the flight, hit the side of the plane, and blew out a window.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed video has appeared online showing significant damage to the engine: a large hole is visible in the casing, one of the fan blades is missing, and others are damaged.
We remind you that this happened on July 10 aboard an 18-year-old Boeing 737, which carried 170 passengers flying from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, near Munich. After a little over an hour of flight at an altitude of almost five kilometers, the plane turned back. It turned out that the engine had failed, and debris from the parts had shattered the porthole. Due to the airflow, a 61-year-old Serbian citizen was lifted from his seat and began to be pulled outward. The passenger flew out of the window up to his shoulders while his wife held his legs.
