Svetlana Grković has shared the harrowing details of how she fought to save her husband, Ljubisa Karović, after he was nearly sucked out of a passenger window during a flight on Friday. The couple was traveling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, on a flight operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair, when an engine failure caused parts to smash through the acrylic window.
According to Grković, who spoke to the Serbian outlet Nova, her husband was pulled headfirst out of the plane, with his body sticking out up to his chest for two minutes. "If we die, we die together," she recalled, describing how she immediately grabbed his legs to hold him in place. With the assistance of two other passengers—a man she believes was Albanian and a woman—Grković was able to pull her husband back into the cabin. She noted that he lost consciousness three times during the ordeal.
Tracking data indicates the aircraft suddenly dropped 9,000ft (2,700m) roughly 10 minutes into the flight. Passengers reported that the cabin experienced extreme decompression, which caused oxygen masks to deploy from the ceiling. One passenger told Radio Thessaloniki that the situation felt like they could not breathe, while others described screams and the belief that the plane was going down. Many travelers fled their seats to seek safety in other parts of the cabin.
The 61-year-old Karović remains in a hospital in Greece. Grković stated that he is seriously injured, particularly in his hand, and is suffering from burns and shock. He is currently unable to communicate and has no memory of the event. Grković expressed a deep desire to personally thank the passengers who assisted her during the emergency.
Ryanair confirmed in a statement that the flight returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff following the dislodgement of a passenger window. The airline noted that the aircraft landed normally and passengers were provided with a replacement plane to complete their journey to Memmingen later that day. The incident is currently under investigation by the Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority, according to Fraport Greece, the operator of Thessaloniki airport.
Images and videos show that the shattered window caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling as the cabin became depressurised.
Another passenger told the radio station that there were screams and “for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door”.
