Skopje.- The authorities of North Macedonia will lead the investigation into what happened on a Ryanair flight between Thessaloniki (Greece) and Memmingen (Germany), in which part of a passenger’s body was sucked out after a window broke mid-flight.
International aviation standards establish that the country whose airspace the aircraft was flying over at the time of the incident must lead the investigation, so North Macedonia will coordinate the inquiries with the support of U.S. authorities, as the affected plane is a U.S.-manufactured Boeing 737-800, reported the news agency Makfax.
Thus, and in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), all official information regarding the investigation will be disseminated by the Macedonian authorities.
The Ryanair flight had taken off from the airport in the Greek city of Thessaloniki around 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT) bound for the German town of Memmingen.
Shortly after takeoff and while the plane was in the climbing phase over North Macedonia, the right engine suffered a failure and some of its fragments may have impacted the fuselage and broken a window, which caused a sudden decompression.
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Witnesses cited by Greek media recounted moments of panic on board and how a passenger sitting next to the damaged window, identified by several regional media outlets as a Serbian citizen, ended up with the upper part of his body outside the plane, although he was held by his wife and other travelers.
The seat belt prevented me from being thrown out
Witnesses reported that the seat belt prevented him from being ejected outside.
“We had been flying for about 30 or 40 minutes when the window suddenly shattered. My husband was sitting next to it and half of his body ended up outside the plane,” the passenger’s wife told the Greek channel Mega.
The crew managed to return to Thessaloniki airport and land safely approximately one hour after takeoff.
The passenger, who suffered from severe shock and had injuries from the glass and friction, was taken to a hospital immediately upon landing along with three other travelers to receive medical attention, according to the Greek agency Newsit.
Ryanair confirmed the plane’s return to the airport of origin and the assistance provided to those affected, although the company did not initially detail the causes of the incident.
The investigation will have to determine if the window breakage was related to the engine failure and the impact of parts against the fuselage, as several experts pointed out to Greek media.
The case is reminiscent of the accident that occurred in 2018 on a Southwest Airlines flight in the United States, when a passenger died after debris from a damaged engine broke a window and partially sucked her outside.
