Ryanair jet window 'dislodged' during flight forcing emergency landing in Greece
Emergency Landing Incident Details
By Renee Maltezou and Padraic Halpin
Overview of the Incident
ATHENS, July 10 (Reuters) - Ryanair said one of its planes was forced into an emergency landing at Thessaloniki airport in Greece shortly after takeoff on Friday after a window was "dislodged", with two industry sources saying a passenger was partially sucked out of it.
The airline said one person received medical assistance, but did not elaborate on the cause.
Flight Path and Immediate Response
The plane was scheduled to fly from Thessaloniki to Memmingen airport in Germany but returned to Thessaloniki "when a passenger window dislodged inflight," Ryanair said in a statement.
FlightRadar24 showed a Boeing 737 NG jet en route to Memmingen diverted back to Thessaloniki on Friday morning.
Previous Incident and Additional Details
The same plane had diverted back to Thessaloniki on a flight to Sarajevo on Thursday evening, also shortly after takeoff, according to the data and a source, although it is unclear why.
Local media in Greece reported that a piece of engine broke off and smashed a window during the flight on Friday, causing the cabin to decompress and sucking one passenger partially out of the window. Two sources with knowledge of the incident relayed the same details to Reuters.
Airline and Official Responses
Ryanair did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on that account of the incident.
"The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal," Ryanair said in its statement.
Eyewitness Accounts and Investigation
Unverified videos posted on social media from the inside of the plane showed a broken window and oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.
A Greek airport source said that the aircraft is still on the ground in Thessaloniki and investigators are looking into the incident.
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou, Michele Kambas, Padraic Halpin, Ivana Sekularac, Conor Humphries and Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Edward McAllister and Susan Fenton)
