Overview
- Shortly after takeoff on Friday a Ryanair Boeing 737 suffered a loud bang and sudden loss of cabin pressure when a passenger window detached or shattered and oxygen masks deployed.
- Witnesses say a 61-year-old man seated next to the damaged window was pulled out to his shoulders and was held by fellow travellers before being returned to the cabin and taken to hospital with abrasions.
- The crew declared an emergency, the jet descended roughly 2,700 metres and returned to Thessaloniki where it landed about an hour after departure; Ryanair later flew the passengers to Memmingen on a replacement aircraft.
- Fraport Greece and the Hellenic Air and Rail Accident Investigation Board have opened an inquiry and will examine the airframe, engines, maintenance records, and flight data while manufacturers have not confirmed passenger claims that engine debris struck the window.
- Investigators will weigh technical forensics against passenger video and witness accounts and could prompt safety or regulatory follow-ups given past cases where engine fragments breached fuselage windows.