The wife of a man who was nearly sucked head-first out of a Ryanair aircraft has described the terrifying moments she and fellow passengers fought to pull him back into the cabin after a window cracked shortly after take-off.

Svetlana Grković Maksimović was travelling with her husband, 61-year-old Ljubisa Karović, on a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, when the incident happened on Friday.

Speaking to BBC Serbia, Maksimović said her husband’s head and right shoulder were forced outside the aircraft during the rapid decompression. She said she immediately grabbed his legs while two nearby passengers rushed to help pull him back into the cabin. “We pulled him back together,” she said, adding that his face had been severely injured and that blood was pouring from his nose and mouth. In an interview with Serbian outlet Nova, she recalled thinking: “If we die, we die together.”

Explosion followed by decompression

As reported by Maksimović, it appeared that part of the aircraft’s engine had broken away before striking and smashing the window next to her husband. She told Greek public broadcaster ERT that passengers first heard what sounded like an explosion before the cabin rapidly lost pressure.

Several passengers reported hearing the same loud noise moments before the emergency unfolded. Passengers told local media that Karović’s seatbelt remained fastened throughout the ordeal, which helped prevent him from being completely pulled from the aircraft while others struggled to hold onto him.

Physical and psychological trauma

Maksimović said her husband suffered significant injuries to one hand, suffered burns, has no memory of the incident, and remains in the hospital. “It’s important to me that he’s alive,” she said, explaining that he remains unable to fully communicate because of the trauma.

She told ERT that her husband begins shaking whenever aircraft are mentioned, while she herself continues to relive the terrifying experience.“I feared for our lives,” she said. “I thought the plane was going to crash.” She added that even everyday situations now trigger memories of the incident. “I got into an elevator yesterday and suddenly felt a terrible sense of suffocation,” she said, questioning whether either of them would ever feel able to fly again.

One passenger, Christina, told Radio Thessaloniki that screams broke out throughout the cabin as passengers initially feared someone had opened an emergency exit. Another passenger, Sofia, said many believed the aircraft was about to crash. “The decompression was extreme,” she said. “It felt like we couldn’t breathe.” She added that Karović was bleeding heavily and appeared to lose consciousness several times, likely because of the shock and reduced oxygen levels.

International investigation underway

Flight tracking data shows the plane had been in the air for 10 minutes when it suddenly descended approximately 2,700 meters. In a statement, Ryanair said the flight returned shortly after take-off after “a passenger window dislodged in flight.” The airline said the aircraft landed normally, passengers were taken back to the terminal, and one passenger received medical assistance after landing.

The aircraft, reported to be an 18-year-old Boeing 737-800 operated by Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air, remains the subject of an international investigation. Fraport Greece, which operates Thessaloniki Airport, confirmed the Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority is leading the inquiry.

Because the aircraft was manufactured in the United States and the incident occurred in North Macedonian airspace, investigators from several aviation authorities are assisting, including Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.