Svetlana Grković recounted the harrowing experience of holding her husband, Ljubisa Karović, by his legs as he was nearly sucked out of a Ryanair plane window during a flight from Greece to Germany on Friday. "Half of his body was sticking out of the plane," Grković told Greek public broadcaster ERT.
Grković stated that Karović, 61, was outside the aircraft "up to his chest" for approximately two minutes. She immediately reacted by grabbing his legs, thinking, "If we die, we die together." With the assistance of two other passengers, she managed to pull him back inside the cabin. Karović reportedly lost consciousness three times during the ordeal.
Passengers heard what sounded like an explosion, and Grković believes a portion of the plane's engine may have broken off, striking and shattering the window next to her husband. This is alleged to have caused a rapid decompression within the cabin. A technical adviser appointed by the family suspects an engine failure initiated the incident, but this has not yet been confirmed by investigators.
According to Grković, Karović remained seated with his seatbelt fastened, which she said aided the passengers in holding onto him.
Ryanair confirmed in a statement that its flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen returned "shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged in flight." The airline stated the aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal, with one passenger receiving medical assistance on the ground.
Karović is described as seriously injured and in shock, with severe injuries to his hand and burns. Grković mentioned he is not able to communicate and has no memory of the event. Data indicates the flight dropped 9,000 feet shortly after departing Thessaloniki.