Ryanair Passenger Partially Sucked Out Of Boeing 737 After Window Shatters Inflight

A Ryanair plane suffered an absolute nightmare scenario, when a window shattered inflight, reportedly partially sucking a passenger out. Fortunately the passenger managed to be pulled back inside, but talk about a dramatic event.

Ryanair jet suffers terrifying shattered window incident

This incident happened today, on the morning of July 10, 2026, and involves Ryanair flight FR1879, operating from Thessaloniki, Greece (SKG), to Memmingen, Germany (FMM). Specifically, the 814-mile flight was operated by an 18-year-old Boeing 737-800 with the registration code 9H-QEU, flying on behalf of subsidiary Malta Air.

The plane took off from Thessaloniki’s runway 28 at 6:12AM local time. Around eight minutes after takeoff, while the plane was climbing through 15,000 feet, one of the windows on the right side of the cabin shattered. We’re not just talking about the inner pane window, but also the outer pane one, which is of course the important one.

Horrifyingly, the passenger seated next to the window seat became stuck in the window opening, with his head outside of the window. Fortunately the passenger managed to be pulled back inside by his travel companions, and all passengers in those seats were reseated.

Since the fuselage remained intact, it’s not known if the passenger may have been too large to fully be pulled out through the window. But still, having your head go through the air at speeds like this could cause major injuries in and of itself.

Oxygen masks were deployed, and the plane descended, and started its return to Thessaloniki. The plane actually took time to burn off fuel, and only landed in Thessaloniki at 7:09AM, a little under an hour after it first departed. Man, that must’ve been a dramatic 50 or so minutes, flying around with with the window shattered.

The passenger who was partially sucked out of the plane has been taken to the hospital, and fortunately he’s expected to be okay. I can’t even imagine what that was like. Three other people were also taken to hospitals, but quickly released. Unsurprisingly, the aircraft remains on the ground in Thessaloniki.

It’s worth noting that coincidentally, the exact same plane was supposed to fly from Thessaloniki to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (SJJ), on the night of July 9, and that plane also diverted to Thessaloniki. However, that was due to a disruptive passenger, rather than due to any related maintenance issue.

Debris from engine failure reportedly caused window shattering

Initial reports suggest that the plane suffered an engine failure shortly after takeoff, and that debris from that engine failure hit the window, causing it to shatter. I’m sure we’ll learn more once an investigation takes place.

It goes without saying that this is an absolute horror scenario. When you sit in a window seat, one thing you don’t expect is that you could be partially sucked out from one second to the next. At the same time, once in a while things do happen.

In early 2024, we saw an exit plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 blown out shortly after takeoff. Fortunately there was no one seated immediately next to it, or else that could’ve had a catastrophic outcome.

For that matter, one is reminded of the 1990 incident of British Airways flight 5390, where a pilot was sucked out of the cockpit windshield mid flight.

Bottom line

A Ryanair Boeing 737 reportedly suffered an engine failure this morning shortly after takeoff from Greece, and debris from that pierced one of the cabin windows, causing it to shatter. As a result, the passenger seated by the window was partially sucked out, but fortunately managed to be fully pulled back in. The plane then circled for quite a while longer, before landing back in Thessaloniki around an hour after its initial departure.

Suffice it to say that something like this is incredibly rare. Thank goodness that there weren’t any fatalities here.

What do you make of this Ryanair window shattering incident?