A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 operating flight FR1879 from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, Germany, suffered a passenger window detachment shortly after take-off on Friday morning, 10 July. A 61-year-old Serbian national seated beside the window was partially pulled out of the aircraft, his head and shoulders outside the fuselage, before his wife and other passengers managed to haul him back into the cabin. The aircraft, which had departed at 05:57 local time, returned to Thessaloniki and landed without further incident approximately one hour later.

Greek hospital officials said the man was admitted conscious with friction burns, a neck injury, and shock, but his condition was stable. Three other people were taken for precautionary checks, though only the Serbian passenger required treatment. Ryanair confirmed that one person received medical assistance on the ground and that a replacement aircraft later carried the remaining passengers to Memmingen.

Greek media, citing preliminary information, reported that a piece of the right-hand engine detached and struck the window, causing the rupture and rapid cabin decompression. The US National Transportation Safety Board noted it was informed of a “right engine issue and cabin decompression.” Ryanair’s statement did not address the cause, and the Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority has opened a formal inquiry. The aircraft, an 18-year-old Boeing 737-800, remained on the ground in Thessaloniki for inspection. Flight-tracking data showed the same plane had returned to the airport shortly after departure on a Sarajevo-bound flight the previous evening, though the reason for that earlier return has not been disclosed.

The incident echoes a 2018 Southwest Airlines accident in which a passenger died after being partially sucked out of a window shattered by engine debris. Aviation safety experts note that such events are extremely rare, and modern airframes are designed to withstand depressurisation. Investigators will examine whether the window failure was caused by engine debris or a structural defect. As of Friday afternoon, no definitive cause had been established.