A wife recounted the harrowing moments she held onto her husband’s legs to prevent him from being pulled out of a plane window that had shattered at 20,000 feet. The incident occurred on a Ryanair flight approximately 30 minutes after it departed from Thessaloniki, Greece, en route to Memmingen, Germany.
Ljubiša Karović, 61, was reportedly drawn toward the broken window by the sudden drop in cabin pressure. "The pressure pulled Ljubiša, luckily he was strapped in, but half of his body was sticking out of the plane," his wife, Svetlana Grković, told the Serbian outlet Nova. She immediately reacted by grabbing his legs, thinking, "If we die, we die together."
Grković stated that her husband lost consciousness multiple times due to the depressurization. She and another passenger held onto his legs until the aircraft could return to Thessaloniki. Karović sustained serious injuries and shock, including a badly injured hand with burns, and has no memory of the event, according to his wife. "It’s important to me that he’s alive," she added.
Other witnesses reported that Karović had blood on his head and was repeatedly passing out, according to Greek outlet Protothema. Footage from the flight showed the engine's nacelle, or protective covering, was shredded and an engine blade was missing.
During the mid-air emergency, some passengers feared the plane would crash. "We were all wearing oxygen masks and didn’t know if we’d make it," one passenger said. A Ryanair spokesperson confirmed that the plane returned to Thessaloniki after a window "dislodged in flight." Passengers were provided medical assistance on the ground, and unaffected travelers were transferred to a replacement aircraft. The incident is currently under investigation.