Updated

Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 14

NTSB Finds 37% Fatigue Fracture in Ryanair 737 Blade After Window-Shattering Engine Failure

Updated

Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 14

NTSB Finds 37% Fatigue Fracture in Ryanair 737 Blade After Window-Shattering Engine Failure

Q: How did passengers manage to save a man partially sucked out of a shattered plane window mid-flight?

Passengers appear to have saved him by physically holding onto him and pulling him back into the cabin while his seat belt helped keep him from being fully ejected. According to investigators and passenger accounts, the window shattered after debris from the damaged right engine struck the fuselage, causing rapid depressurization. The 61-year-old man seated by the window was pulled head-first into the opening, with his head, neck and shoulders reportedly outside the aircraft. Witnesses and local reports say his wife grabbed his legs and held on for several minutes, while other passengers joined in to help restrain him and pull him back inside. One reason he was not completely sucked out was that he still had his seat belt fastened, which likely anchored him long enough for others to act. Afterward, passengers used a metal box to help cover the broken window area as the crew turned the Boeing 737-800 back to Thessaloniki. The plane landed safely about an hour after departure. The man suffered neck and shoulder injuries, friction burns and shock, but survived because nearby passengers reacted immediately, his wife maintained her grip, and the seat belt provided a critical final restraint.

3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 14

About 37% of the fractured fan-blade surface showed metal-fatigue features, the NTSB said in a preliminary report on the July 10 Ryanair flight where engine debris shattered a cabin window and injured a passenger.
At 16,000 feet, the Malta Air-operated Boeing 737-800 crew received a right-engine vibration alert, then heard a loud bang before the cabin depressurized and fragments penetrated the fuselage near row 11.
A 61-year-old passenger in seat 11F was partially pulled into the opening before other passengers dragged him back; he suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns, and a doctor treated him onboard.
Investigators also recovered feathers and bird remains from the engine, but have not concluded a bird strike caused the blade failure; the engine had four suspected bird strikes in the previous year.
Ultrasonic inspections in November 2025 and May 2026 found no blade damage, and the NTSB said the root cause of the failure remains under investigation.