A passenger was partially pulled through a shattered window aboard a Ryanair Boeing 737 over Greece last week, prompting the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to announce yesterday that it will lead the investigation.
The agency said Greek authorities had delegated responsibility for directing the inquiry to the NTSB.
Video footage and information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicate that part of the Boeing 737 NG’s engine broke away and struck the window shortly after the aircraft departed Thessaloniki, Greece, on 10 July.
The Germany-bound jet lost cabin pressure before making an emergency landing.
Echoes of earlier incidents
The episode bore similarities to failures involving two Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 NG flights in 2016 and 2018. During the second incident, a passenger died after being partly sucked through a window shattered by a broken fan blade.
However, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters in an interview: “I don’t think the early indications are that [the recent Ryanair problem] mimics what the Southwest incident was.”
Following the Southwest Airlines accident, the NTSB urged Boeing to redesign the fan cowl structure on 737 NG aircraft. The FAA subsequently issued a 2023 airworthiness directive requiring the work to be completed by 2028.
Oxygen masks dropped as panic swept through the cabin (Credit: Despoina Papapavlou)
Mr Bedford said the latest investigation has triggered a comprehensive review of how the FAA responded to the 2018 accident. “Did we miss something? Way too early to tell – but we can’t take it off the board yet,” Mr Bedford said.
Southwest Airlines said yesterday that modifications had been completed on about 80% of its affected aircraft, putting the carrier ahead of schedule to comply with the FAA’s July 2028 deadline.
Ryanair operates CFM56 engines made by CFM International across its Boeing 737 NG fleet. The NG generation preceded Boeing’s current 737 MAX series.
‘Chaos erupted’
Recounting the terrifying moments after the window broke, the wife of a Mr Karovic said “chaos broke out” inside the aircraft.
Svetlana Maksimovic said her husband’s seatbelt kept him from being fully ejected. As oxygen masks dropped and fear spread through the cabin, she and two fellow passengers fought to drag him back inside.
She said: “At that exact moment, he [her husband] was pulled out through the window. He was outside for a maximum of two to three minutes.
“The lady sitting next to me and I tried to put him back inside. A strong wind had pulled him out, but luckily he was wearing his seatbelt, so he didn’t fall off the seat.
“Then a man came to help us. I think he told us he was from Albania, but I’m not sure.”
