Passenger’s Husband Nearly Pulled Out of Plane Window After Cabin Decompression Horror on Ryanair Flight

“I grabbed his legs and refused to let go” — Wife recounts terrifying moment half of husband’s body was sucked out mid-air

A terrifying incident aboard a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany left passengers traumatised after a cabin window reportedly shattered shortly after take-off, causing sudden decompression that partially pulled a passenger out of the aircraft.

The passenger’s wife, Svetlana Grkovic, has revealed the horrifying moments when her husband, Ljubisa Karovic, was dragged toward the broken window as the plane was thousands of feet above the ground.

The couple were travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, on Friday when the aircraft was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing at Thessaloniki Airport.

According to reports from Greek media, a section of the aircraft’s engine may have broken off and struck a passenger window, causing it to dislodge and triggering a loss of cabin pressure.

Recounting the terrifying experience, Grkovic said the sudden decompression pulled her husband toward the damaged window, but his seat belt prevented him from being completely sucked out.

“As the window broke, decompression occurred in the cabin. The pressure pulled Ljubisa, luckily he was strapped in, but half of his body was sticking out of the plane. I immediately reacted and grabbed his legs,” she told Romanian outlet Nova.

“I thought: ‘If we die, we die together.’ It was horrible.”

She said the incident unfolded within seconds as passengers struggled to understand what was happening.

According to her account, her husband remained partially outside the aircraft for up to two minutes before fellow passengers managed to pull him back inside.

“Three of us were pulling him in. The masks fell off and there was chaos,” she told Greek broadcaster ERT News.

Another passenger, Christina, described the moment of panic, saying travellers heard a loud bang similar to a tyre explosion before oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.

“We knew straight away we lost pressure because we lost altitude,” she said, adding that the cabin was filled with “screams, shrieks and shouting.”

Following the incident, Karovic was taken for medical attention and is reportedly suffering from serious injuries and psychological trauma.

His wife said he sustained injuries to his hand, suffered burns and remains unable to fully recall what happened.

“He’s wearing a collar, he’s in shock and when he hears about planes he starts shaking,” she said.

Flight tracking data showed that the aircraft climbed above 15,000 feet shortly after departure before descending to a lower altitude while the crew prepared for the emergency return to Thessaloniki.

Ryanair confirmed that the aircraft made an emergency landing after a passenger window “dislodged inflight.”

“The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki,” the airline said.

A replacement aircraft was later arranged to transport the remaining passengers to Germany.

Aviation experts are expected to examine the aircraft to determine the exact cause of the window failure and establish how the damage occurred during the flight.

The incident has renewed discussions about aircraft safety systems and the importance of emergency procedures that protect passengers during rare but dangerous in-flight failures.