Overview
- A Ryanair-operated Boeing 737 returned to Thessaloniki after a passenger window detached during climb and oxygen masks deployed, with fellow travelers and the passenger's wife stopping him from being pulled out.
- Flight-tracking data showed the jet lost altitude and reversed course before landing, and Ryanair confirmed the window separation and provided a replacement aircraft to carry other passengers to Memmingen.
- The 61-year-old passenger was taken to a Thessaloniki hospital and his family say he has serious injuries including hand damage and burns while some media earlier reported only abrasions.
- A family-hired technical expert and several commentators have suggested a turbine or engine component may have struck the window but Greek investigators have not confirmed a cause and technical examinations are under way.
- Cabin windows are made of multiple layers of acrylic to resist pressure, failures are rare, and investigators are treating this incident seriously given a 2018 case where engine debris caused a fatal fuselage breach.