In a harrowing experience, a woman recounted how she firmly grasped her husband’s legs as he was nearly pulled from a Ryanair aircraft at an altitude of 20,000 feet, striving valiantly to save him.
Serbian native Ljubiša Karović found himself perilously suspended outside the plane after a catastrophic engine failure sent debris crashing through a window. In a panic, his wife Svetlana Grković held onto his legs, desperate to prevent him from being completely ejected from the cabin last Friday.
The drama unfolded on flight FR1879, a Boeing 737-800 en route from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, compelling the flight crew to abort their journey and return to the original airport to execute an urgent landing.
Witnesses on board reported hearing an explosive noise shortly after takeoff, a sound that was soon identified as the shattering of the plane’s window.
Seated by the compromised window, Mr. Karović was nearly pulled through the gaping hole, teetering dangerously close to disaster.
But his wife held him by his legs for about five minutes, after which fellow passengers were able to pull him back into the cabin as oxygen masks dropped down.
Now Ms Grković has described the ordeal in the air, which took place as she and her husband were heading back from a summer holiday in Greece.
She told Nova: ‘It was as if a part of the engine broke off and hit the window next to which my husband Ljubiša was sitting.
Svetlana Grkovic held on to her husband Ljubisa Karovic’s legs as he was being sucked out of a Ryanair window at 20,000ft and has described her battle to save him
The Boeing 737-800, travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing following the dramatic incident
‘I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: “If we die, we die together.” It was horrible.’
Chaos ensued with some passengers panicking and others rushing to help Mr Karović.
‘Some people came to my aid, I remember one man and one woman,’ she added. ‘That man helped me a lot, Ljubiša and I.’
Ms Grković said she would like to thank the heroic passenger in person after he helped save her husband’s life.
Mr Karović remains in hospital and is believed to be unable to speak due to his injuries. He also has friction burns and is in a state of severe shock.
His wife said his hand is badly injured and he also has a series of burns.
She recalled that he lost consciousness several times during the incident and cannot remember much of what happened.
Mr Karović comes from Vrnjačka Banja in central Serbia but has spent a lot of time in Greece, where he sells and rents apartments in the resorts of Paralija and Olympic Beach.
One passenger told the Informer: ‘Luckily, he didn’t unbuckle his seat belt. His wife Svetlana Grković held his legs for five full minutes, until the other passengers ran to help and managed to pull him back into the cabin.’
Footage, shared by a Ryanair flight attendant, appeared to show a missing engine blade and damage to the outside of the aircraft before panning to the smashed window. A large hole could also be seen in the side of the engine casing.
Another witness told Greek broadcaster ERT that the man’s ‘head and shoulders were sticking out of the broken window’.
Travellers feared they ‘wouldn’t make it’ as the jet flew for around 30 minutes with the damaged window.
One witness, who had been sitting at the back of the plane, said they did not initially realise what had happened.
‘We thought we were falling,’ they said. ‘We were wearing oxygen masks, we didn’t know if we would make it.’
The witness added that Mr Karović ‘had blood on his head’ and ‘fainted several times’.
A Ryanair spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight.
‘The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal.
‘One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.
A large hole can be seen in the side of the engine casing. Travellers feared they ‘wouldn’t make it’ as the jet flew for around 30 minutes with the damaged window
Shortly after taking off, passengers heard a deafening bang as the jet’s window was shattered
Ms Grković held her husband by his legs for about five minutes, after which fellow passengers were able to pull him back into the cabin as oxygen masks dropped down
A video showed the shattered engine of the Ryanair plane after the incident
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‘In order to minimise any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen which departed Thessaloniki at 9.53am local this morning.’
According to publicly available flight data, the Ryanair plane landed back in Thessaloniki after one hour and 14 minutes.
A pregnant woman also on board the flight was taken to hospital. According to local media, she is in good health and has since left hospital.
Commenting on the incident, the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees (POEDIN) claimed there was ‘almost a tragedy’.
He said the ‘damaged’ window gave way and that part of the passenger’s body was pulled outside the aircraft before he was restrained by his wife.