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Athens\/Washington: A passenger was partially sucked through a dislodged window on a Ryanair Boeing 737 flight shortly after take-off from Thessaloniki in Greece on Friday, two airport sources said. The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing.<\/p>\n
The plane was scheduled to fly from Thessaloniki to Memmingen airport in Germany but returned to Thessaloniki \u201cwhen a passenger window dislodged in flight\u201d, Ryanair said in a statement. It is unclear what led to the broken window.<\/p>\n
The Serbian national who was partially sucked through the window was transferred to the AHEPA University General Hospital in Thessaloniki but did not face life-threatening injuries, the Serbian consulate said, adding that doctors were determining the extent of the injuries.<\/p>\n
Serbian media quoted a passenger telling Radio Thessaloniki that the man\u2019s head and shoulders were outside the aircraft before fellow passengers pulled him back in.<\/p>\n
The US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the plane was a Boeing 737 NG \u2013 the version before the current MAX generation of 737 planes.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2405215279627fde35a821fb107fb1bb5ae49ab1.jpeg\")
A Ryanair Boeing 737-800.<\/p>\n
Boeing said it was assisting the investigation led by North Macedonia over which the incident had occurred. \u201cWe remain in contact with and continue to support our customer, Ryanair,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n
Ryanair did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on details of the incident, as well as for confirmation on the make of the plane and the engine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal,\u201d Ryanair said in its statement.<\/p>\n
Local media in Greece reported that a piece of engine broke off and smashed a window early in the flight, causing the cabin to decompress. The two airport sources with knowledge of the incident relayed the same details to Reuters.<\/p>\n
A video posted on social media appeared to show an uncontained engine failure on the damaged Boeing 737, with fan blades missing. Such a failure occurs when internal components like fan blades shatter and breach the casing, sending debris flying.<\/p>\n
Flightradar24 showed a Boeing 737 NG jet en route to Memmingen diverted back to Thessaloniki on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
The same plane had diverted back to Thessaloniki on a flight to Sarajevo on Thursday evening, also shortly after take-off, according to the data and a source, although it is unclear why.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The FAA confirmed that a window had broken on Friday\u2019s flight, and said it was ready to support the investigation. Serbian state TV also showed the interior of the aircraft and the broken window.<\/p>\n
Related Article Ryanair uses CFM56 engines from manufacturer CFM International on all of its Boeing 737 NG models. CFM, a joint venture between General Electric Co and France\u2019s Safran SA, did not comment.<\/p>\n Unverified videos posted on social media from the inside of the plane showed a broken window and oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.<\/p>\n One of the Greek airport sources said the aircraft was still on the ground in Thessaloniki and investigators were looking into the incident.<\/p>\n A similar incident occurred in 2018<\/a> on another Boeing 737 NG. A fan blade in the engine of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 NG broke and caused a broken window that partially sucked out a![\"Passenger](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07f61abc53ce3f7fc0d3dde6db18f546a7fe73a9.jpeg\")
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passenger who was killed. The 43-year-old was the first person killed in a US passenger airline accident in nine years.<\/p>\n
![\"Plane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/82ce857b6990641f879985dc15218e7e006a2af5.jpeg\")
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