Key facts
- A Ryanair Boeing 737 experienced engine failure and cabin depressurization.
- A broken engine fan blade and fragments shattered a window, partially ejecting a passenger.
- The incident occurred during a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany.
- The NTSB preliminary report identified bird remains in the engine.
- The aircraft was not yet compliant with FAA airworthiness directives related to engine fan blades, with a deadline of July 2028.
Investigators have released a preliminary report detailing how a passenger on a Ryanair flight was partially sucked out of the aircraft due to an engine failure. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that a fan blade broke off the right engine of the Boeing 737, and fragments from the engine damaged the fuselage and shattered a window.
The incident occurred on July 10 as the plane was climbing through 16,000 feet on a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, with 149 passengers and six crew members aboard. Pilots received a high-vibration indication for the right engine, which initially decreased but then increased significantly. This was followed by a loud bang and a cabin altitude warning.
Passengers and crew donned oxygen masks, and the pilots initiated an emergency descent. A flight attendant observed that a passenger in seat 11F was partially lodged in a damaged cabin window, which was entirely missing. Other passengers helped pull the injured individual back into the cabin, and one passenger used a metal box to temporarily cover the opening.
Another passenger, identified as a doctor, attended to the injured person. Once the pilots descended below 10,000 feet, where normal breathing is possible, they returned the aircraft to Thessaloniki. Investigators discovered bird remains and feathers within the engine, which were sent for examination.
The NTSB noted similarities to a 2018 incident involving a Southwest flight and a Boeing 737 with the same engine type. In that case, a broken engine blade also shattered a window, and a passenger was nearly ejected. The report also highlighted that the Ryanair aircraft had not yet undergone modifications required by FAA airworthiness directives issued in 2025 to prevent engine fan blade failures, with a compliance deadline of July 2028.