Dramatic moments were experienced by passengers on a Ryanair flight departing from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Munich, Germany, on Friday morning.
According to Greek media, when the plane was over the Skopje area, the pilots discovered serious damage to one of the engines, which could not be repaired during the flight.
A part of the engine reportedly broke off and hit a window of the plane, causing a minor injury to a Serbian passenger.
The news was first reported by a passenger’s complaint on rthess.gr, who described that during the flight a loud noise was heard and a window of the plane was broken.
According to the complaint, the cabin depressurized and passengers rushed to help a Serbian man who was sitting near the damaged window and was being pulled by the wind. He was saved thanks to his wife who was nearby, holding him by the legs.
The pilot changed course and the plane landed safely at Thessaloniki airport, while the passenger was taken to hospital with a neck injury.
A passenger described the terrifying moments to Radio Thessaloniki 94.5, indicating that initially a loud noise was heard, after which the cabin decompressed, oxygen masks were put on, and panic broke out among the passengers.
“There was a sound like a tire bursting. There was panic with screams, yells and voices because we immediately lost altitude from decompression. For a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door. The flight attendants missed it. We all immediately put on our masks. It seemed like a long time before we realized what was happening.”
Regarding the 61-year-old Serb, she said:
“They grabbed him and held him down, luckily he hadn’t taken off his seatbelt. His head was completely out of the plane. The girls who were next to him were pulling him out. Some doctors also went to help him.”