'If we die, we die together': Wife of man nearly sucked out of Ryanair plane speaks of ordeal
Image: BBC News
A woman has described the terrifying moment her husband was almost sucked head-first out of a Ryanair cabin window, saying his "right shoulder and head were outside the plane".
Svetlana Grkovic was travelling with her husband, Ljubisa Karovic, on a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany when the window next to him shattered. She told BBC Serbia that two fellow passengers helped pull him back inside after nearly two minutes.
"We pulled him back together," she said. "His entire face was deformed and blood was pouring from his nose and his mouth." Speaking to Serbian outlet Nova, Grkovic said she grabbed his legs immediately, thinking: "If we die, we die together."
The couple believe part of the plane's engine broke off and smashed the window, causing rapid decompression. A technical adviser appointed by the family points to a failure in the aircraft's right engine, though investigators have not confirmed that assessment.
Grkovic, 61, remains in hospital and is described as seriously injured and in shock. "It's important to me that he's alive," his wife said, adding that he cannot yet communicate and does not remember the event. She too says she is in a poor psychological state and now fears flying.
Ryanair said the flight returned shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged, landing normally with one passenger receiving medical assistance. The incident is being investigated by Greek authorities, with Boeing, the US FAA and the EU's aviation safety agency also assisting.