BERLIN: A 61-year-old airline passenger has spoken publicly for the first time about the terrifying moment an aircraft window reportedly failed during a flight, leaving part of his body pulled outside the plane by powerful air pressure thousands of feet above the ground.
Ljubiša Karović, a Serbian national, was travelling with his wife on a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, when the incident occurred 11 days ago.
According to Karović, he had been asleep during the flight when he was suddenly awakened by what sounded like an explosion.
“I woke up to a loud bang, almost like a bomb had gone off,” he recalled.
Within seconds, the window beside him reportedly detached from the aircraft, causing a rapid loss of cabin pressure. The force of the escaping air pulled him toward the opening.
Karović said that nearly half of his body was forced outside the aircraft through the opening left by the missing window.
“My body was bleeding, and blood was coming from my face and hands,” he said. “I remained conscious for only a brief moment. After that, I don’t remember anything.”
Following the sudden decompression, oxygen masks automatically deployed throughout the cabin as passengers prepared for an emergency.
Karović’s head and upper body were exposed to freezing temperatures and intense wind outside the aircraft.
His wife, Svetlana Karović, immediately reacted by grabbing hold of his legs to prevent him from being pulled completely out of the aircraft.
“I acted instinctively and grabbed his legs,” she said. “At that moment, I thought that if we were going to die, we would die together. It was the most frightening moment of my life.”
Two other passengers quickly joined her efforts, helping pull Karović back into the cabin.
According to the couple, the dramatic rescue lasted approximately five minutes, during which Karović lost consciousness several times.
The aircraft’s crew declared an emergency and returned the flight safely to Thessaloniki Airport, where emergency medical teams transported the injured passenger to hospital.
Doctors treated him for multiple injuries and later reported that the right side of his body had suffered temporary paralysis. He also sustained injuries to his right ear and right eye.
Although he has survived the incident, Karović said the psychological effects remain severe.
“Whenever I close my eyes, I relive those terrifying moments,” he said. “I can’t even think about boarding another aircraft. Even hearing the sound of a plane now makes me anxious and physically unwell. This incident has completely changed my life.”
According to the airline’s preliminary investigation, part of one of the aircraft’s engines reportedly struck the window shortly after takeoff, causing it to fail.
However, investigators have not yet determined why the engine component became detached or what caused the incident.
A full technical investigation is continuing to establish the exact sequence of events and determine whether mechanical failure, maintenance issues, or other factors contributed to the accident.
The findings of the final investigation are expected to guide any future safety recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents.
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