On Friday, July 11th, 2026, a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, experienced a terrifying incident when a cabin window shattered, nearly sucking passenger Ljubisa Karović out of the plane.

Svetlana Grković, Karović's wife, described to Greek broadcaster ERT and Serbian media how she held onto her husband's legs as "half of his body was sticking out of the plane" for two minutes. She recalled thinking, "If we die, we die together," while struggling to keep him from being pulled out.

With the aid of two other passengers, including a woman who held Karović's hand, Grković managed to pull her husband back inside the aircraft. She said Karović lost consciousness three times during the ordeal. Other passengers reported hearing what sounded like an explosion.

Grković suggested that part of the plane's engine had broken off, smashing the window and causing rapid decompression in the cabin. The 61-year-old Karović remains hospitalized and is described as "seriously injured and in shock."

The aircraft involved is a US-built Boeing 737-800, and the incident occurred in North Macedonian airspace. Consequently, an international investigation is underway with involvement from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

Sources