A woman has recalled the terrifying moment she fought to save her husband after he was reportedly pulled toward a broken window on a Ryanair flight at 20,000ft.
Serbian passenger Ljubiša Karović was left partially outside the aircraft, according to accounts, as his wife, Svetlana Grković, desperately held on to his legs after a section of the engine allegedly broke loose during the flight and smashed into the window on Friday.
Ryanair flight FR1879, a Boeing 737-800 travelling from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany, was forced to return to its departure airport and make an emergency landing after the dramatic mid-air incident.
Passengers described hearing an overwhelming bang shortly after takeoff, which they later said was followed by the aircraft window shattering.
Mr Karović, who had been sitting beside the window, was then reportedly pulled toward the opening, leaving him in an extremely dangerous position.
His wife is said to have gripped his legs for around five minutes before other passengers helped haul him back inside the cabin, while oxygen masks deployed around them.
Ms Grković has now spoken about the frightening ordeal, which happened as the couple were returning from a summer holiday in Greece.
Speaking to Nova, she said: “It was as if a part of the engine broke off and hit the window next to which my husband Ljubiša was sitting.”
Svetlana Grkovic pictured, right, with husband Ljubisa Karovic. She held on to his legs as he was being sucked out of a Ryanair window at 20,000ft and has described her battle to save him
The Boeing 737-800, travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing following the dramatic incident
‘I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: “If we die, we die together.” It was horrible.’
Chaos ensued with some people panicking and other passengers rushing to help Mr Karović.
‘Some people came to my aid, I remember one man and one woman,’ she added. ‘That man helped me a lot, Ljubiša and I.’
Ms Grković said she would like to thank the heroic passenger in person after he helped save her husband’s life.
Mr Karović remains in hospital and is believed to be unable to speak due to his injuries. He also has friction burns and is in a state of severe shock.
His wife said his hand is badly injured and he also has a series of burns.
She recalled that he lost consciousness several times during the incident and cannot remember much of what happened.
Mr Karović comes from Vrnjačka Banja in central Serbia but has spent a lot of time in Greece as he sells and rents apartments in the resorts of Paralija and Olympic Beach, the Informer reports.
One passenger told the Informer: ‘Luckily, he didn’t unbuckle his seat belt. His wife Svetlana Grković held his legs for five full minutes, until the other passengers ran to help and managed to pull him back into the cabin.’
Footage, shared by a Ryanair flight attendant, appeared to show a missing engine blade and damage to the outside of the aircraft before panning to the smashed window. A large hole could also be seen in the side of the engine casing.
‘His head and shoulders were sticking out of the broken window,’ another witness told Greek broadcaster ERT.
Travellers feared they ‘wouldn’t make it’ as the jet flew for around 30 minutes with the damaged window.
One witness, who had been sitting at the back of the plane, said they did not initially realise what had happened.
‘We thought we were falling,’ he said, before describing the injured passenger.
‘He had blood on his head. He fainted several times.’
‘We were wearing oxygen masks, we didn’t know if we would make it,’ the witness added.
A Ryanair spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when 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.
A large hole can be seen in the side of the engine casing. Travellers feared they ‘wouldn’t make it’ as the jet flew for around 30 minutes with the damaged window
Shortly after taking off, passengers heard a deafening bang as the jet’s window was shattered (Pictured: The shattered window from outside the aircraft)
Travellers feared they ‘wouldn’t make it’ as the jet flew for around 30 minutes with the damaged window
A video showed the shattered engine of the Ryanair plane after the incident
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‘In order to minimise any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen which departed Thessaloniki at 9.53am local this morning.’
According to publicly available flight data, the Ryanair plane landed back in Thessaloniki after one hour and 14 minutes.
A pregnant woman also on board the flight was taken to hospital. According to local media, she is in good health and has since left the hospital.
Commenting on the incident, the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees (POEDIN) claimed there was ‘almost a tragedy’.
He said the ‘damaged’ window gave way and that part of the passenger’s body was pulled outside the aircraft before he was restrained by his wife.
