Key facts
- Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary disputed claims that a passenger was sucked out of a broken window on a July flight.
- The passenger, Ljubisa Karovic, sustained neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns when a window shattered on a flight from Greece to Germany.
- Karovic's wife and witnesses stated the pressure drop caused his head and shoulders to be pulled out the window, and other passengers helped pull him back in.
- O'Leary stated that while Karovic was "certainly sucked towards the window, but he didn’t get out the window," and that the airline would dispute claims of any body part exiting the aircraft.
- The US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, which involved fragments from a broken fan blade in the Boeing 737-800's right engine damaging the fuselage.
- Ryanair shareholders approved CEO Michael O'Leary's pay package, potentially worth up to €150 million.
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary has disputed claims that a passenger was sucked out of a broken window on one of the airline's flights in July. The passenger, Ljubisa Karovic, reportedly sustained neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns when a window shattered shortly after takeoff on a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany.
According to Karovic's wife and witnesses, the sudden pressure drop caused his head and shoulders to be pulled out of the aircraft, and other passengers helped pull him back inside. However, O'Leary stated that while Karovic was "certainly sucked towards the window, but he didn’t get out the window," and that the airline would dispute that any part of his body exited the aircraft.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the incident. Preliminary findings indicate that the window shattered after being struck by fragments from a broken fan blade in the Boeing 737-800's right engine, which also damaged the fuselage and other parts of the plane.
In a separate matter, Ryanair shareholders approved O'Leary's proposed pay package, which could be worth up to €150 million if profit and share price targets are met.