Ryanair Passenger Recalls Terrifying Ordeal After Being Sucked Out of Plane Window
On the morning of Friday, July 10, 2026, a 61-year-old Serbian passenger named Ljubisa Karovic suffered near-fatal injuries when a window shattered on a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 operating flight FR1879 from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, causing his torso to be wrenched out of the cabin at 20,000 feet.
His wife, Svetlana Grkovic, clutched his legs to prevent him from being completely ejected into the slipstream during the ordeal.
The Mechanics of Explosive Decompression at 20,000 Feet
Commercial aircraft cabins maintain an artificial atmospheric pressure roughly equivalent to an altitude of 8,000 feet. When the window next to Karovic’s seat failed, the sudden shift to the ambient pressure at 20,000 feet created an explosive decompression. Karovic was pulled toward the aperture by the rapid escape of air. According to his wife, he was exposed to the elements for ‘up to two minutes’. He fainted three times throughout the ordeal.
Dr. David Carey, a commercial pilot and aviation medicine specialist with more than 40 years of experience, detailed the physiological impacts of such an event. The primary physiological threat during rapid decompression is hypoxia, a condition where the body cannot transport sufficient oxygen to critical organs like the heart and brain due to diminished ambient pressure. With Karovic positioned so that his head and right shoulder protruded outside, reaching an oxygen mask would have proved impossible for him, and likely for his wife too while she grasped his lower limbs.
Following the rapid pressure equalisation inside the Boeing 737-800 cabin, the flight crew initiated an emergency descent. The aircraft landed safely back at Thessaloniki airport approximately 30 minutes after departure. Afterward, Karovic received hospital treatment for a hand injury alongside extensive friction burns. ‘His entire face was deformed and blood was pouring from his nose and mouth,’ his wife said. ‘His hand is particularly badly injured, and he’s got burns. He’s not able to communicate.’