Ryanair Flight Suffers Explosive Decompression After Window Shatters Mid-Flight
A passenger on a Ryanair flight from the Greek holiday resort of Thessaloniki was reportedly partially sucked out of the plane's window when it suffered an explosive decompression on Friday morning. The incident involved Ryanair flight FR-1879 from Thessaloniki (SKG) to the German town of Memmingen (FMM) in Bavaria. BREAKING: Ryanair passenger reportedly saved from being sucked out the cabin after window fails during a flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen. According to local media Ryanair flight FR1879, a Boeing 737-8AS, returned safely to Greece on Friday after part of a damaged engine… pic.twitter.com/YPgRodjPFp — Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 10, 2026 The flight was operated by an 18-year-old Boeing 737-800 which is painted in Ryanair's normally livery but operated by the Irish low-cost carrier's Maltese subsidiary Malta Air. According to flight tracking website Flight Radar 24, the aircraft departed Thessaloniki at 6:12 am on July 10, climbing to a maximum altitude of approximately 16,400 feet before the pilots started a sudden descent to just 6,000 feet. The reason for the sudden descent was that a cabin window had completely shattered causing a male passenger to be reportedly partially sucked out of the window. Eyewitnesses described how other passengers clung onto the man and pulled him back inside the aircraft. Flight tracking logs show that the plane was then put into a holding pattern before being cleared to land back at Thessaloniki Airport around 50 minutes after takeoff. The male passenger, a 61-year-old from Serbia was rushed to hospital. He is believed to have sustained non-life threatening injuries. The cause of the accident is yet to be established but initial reports suggest that part of the right hand engine detached during the plane's initial ascent and struck the window, causing it to completely shatter. The damage caused an explosive decompression in the cabin and oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. The incident appears to be eerily similar to Southwest Airlines flight WN-1380 in April 2018 in which part of the engine cowling (the outer metal cover) detached and struck a cabin window. One passenger was partially sucked out of the cabin and later died from their injuries. It is the only fatal aircraft-related accident in Southwest Airlines history. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended design changes to the engine cowlings of the CFM manufactured engines on Boeing 737 Nextgen aircraft. Airlines have until July 2028, however, to implement these changes. Ryanair has been contacted for comment. More follows.
