The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into a Ryanair flight incident where a passenger was nearly sucked out of a broken window. Greece has delegated the lead investigative role to the NTSB, the agency announced Thursday.
The incident occurred on July 10 shortly after takeoff from Thessaloniki, Greece, on a flight bound for Germany. A piece of an engine broke off the Boeing 737 NG aircraft and struck a window, causing it to shatter. The plane experienced a loss of cabin pressure and made an emergency landing.
Passengers aboard the flight held onto Ljubisa Karovic, a Serbian national, who was partially pulled out of the broken window. Karovic sustained injuries and was hospitalized. His wife, Svetlana Grkovic, assisted in holding him during the ordeal.
The incident bears similarities to previous issues on Boeing 737 NG aircraft. In 2018, a passenger died on a Southwest Airlines flight when a fan blade broke off an engine, damaging a window and partially ejecting her. In that earlier incident, the NTSB had urged Boeing to redesign the fan cowl structure on 737 NG planes, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an airworthiness directive in 2023, with a deadline for completion in 2028.
However, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated that early indications suggest the recent Ryanair incident may not mirror the 2018 Southwest incident. Bedford added that the ongoing investigation would prompt a full reevaluation of the FAA's response to the 2018 event, noting it was too early to determine if any aspects were missed.
Southwest Airlines has reported completing the required work on approximately 80% of its affected planes, putting it ahead of the FAA's 2028 deadline. Ryanair utilizes CFM56 engines, manufactured by CFM International, on its Boeing 737 NG fleet. The 737 NG is the predecessor to the current 737 MAX generation.