Ryanair CEO Rejects Report That Passenger Was Partially Sucked Through Broken 737 Window

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary has pushed back against witness accounts that a passenger injured when a Boeing 737 window shattered mid-flight was partially pulled out through the opening – even as U.S. investigators reportedly accuse him of violating international investigation protocol by commenting publicly on the case at all.

The incident involved Ljubisa Karovic, a Serbian passenger aboard Ryanair flight 1879, operated by Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air, flying from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, on July 10, 2026. Karovic suffered neck and shoulder injuries along with friction burns after the window shattered shortly after takeoff.

What Actually Caused the Window to Fail

The window's failure was not spontaneous. According to a preliminary report from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident on behalf of Greek authorities, fan blades in the aircraft's right CFM turbofan engine fractured and broke off during climb-out. Debris from the fractured blades may have blown through the engine cowling and struck the window, causing it to fully shatter.

Investigators noted this is not the first time a fan-blade failure has caused an in-flight window failure. A nearly identical accident in 2018 aboard a Southwest Airlines flight killed a passenger after a similar engine failure shattered a window and caused rapid decompression. A required safety fix exists for this specific failure mode, but airlines have until 2028 to install it, and the Ryanair aircraft involved had not yet received the modification.

What the CEO Said

Speaking to reporters after Ryanair's annual general meeting in Dublin, O'Leary directly disputed the account that Karovic was partially pulled out of the plane. 

He wasn't partially out the window,

O'Leary said.

We don't think any part of his body got out the window, but he was certainly sucked in very dramatic circumstances towards the window.

O'Leary acknowledged that Karovic was injured and entitled to compensation, though he pushed back on the scale some had suggested, saying it would not amount to "millions and millions." He said the airline would dispute the more dramatic version of events and would await the NTSB's final report before commenting further. Ryanair has otherwise declined to comment until the investigation concludes.

A Complicating Detail From Investigators

O'Leary's denial is complicated by a detail in the NTSB's own preliminary findings: investigators reported that flight attendants found Karovic "partially lodged" in the window frame beside seat 11F. That is an official investigative finding, not merely a witness account, and it sits in some tension with O'Leary's insistence that no part of Karovic's body left the aircraft.

Karovic's wife, Svetlana, along with other passengers, has given a more dramatic account. During interviews she mentioned her husband was "half in and half out of the plane," and that she held onto his legs while another, unidentified passenger helped pull him back inside, at one point trying to block the opening with a bag that was itself immediately sucked out of the aircraft. A flight attendant reportedly attempted to plug the gap with a metal catering canister. Karovic has said he blacked out during the incident and believes his seatbelt helped keep him from being pulled further out. His lawyer, Vasilis Tsiaras, has said his client is "alive by mistake."

Why the Distinction Matters

Cabin windows on commercial aircraft are typically built with multiple layers, with the outer pane bearing the pressure load and inner panes providing backup protection. A crack limited to an inner pane does not typically compromise cabin pressure. But that is not what investigators believe happened here: the NTSB's preliminary findings describe a full window failure caused by engine debris impact, a far more serious structural event than a cosmetic inner-pane crack, and one capable of causing the kind of rapid decompression and pressure differential O'Leary himself has cited in downplaying the severity of what passengers experienced.

The NTSB Dispute

Separately, the NTSB has reportedly taken issue with O'Leary discussing the incident publicly at all while its investigation remains active, accusing him of violating international protocols that generally restrict public comment from parties involved in an ongoing air-accident investigation.

What Happens Next

The NTSB's investigation is ongoing, with a final report expected to examine the engine failure, the window's structural response, and the safety-fix timeline in more detail. Karovic continues to report physical and psychological effects from the incident, telling news sources that the memory of the explosion keeps him up at night and that his neck and head continue to hurt. Whether the final NTSB report substantiates the more dramatic witness accounts or aligns more closely with O'Leary's version of events remains to be seen.