An incident involving a Ryanair plane in Greece last month was caused by broken engine parts that shattered a window shortly after takeoff, leading to a passenger’s head being sucked out before fellow passengers intervened, according to U.S. investigators on Thursday.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that a fan blade in the right engine of the Boeing 737-800 broke loose, resulting in fragments damaging the window and fuselage in multiple areas.
Greece transferred the investigation to the U.S. agency following international aviation regulations.
On July 10, after departing from Thessaloniki in northern Greece, the incident occurred. Investigators discovered bird remains inside the engine, indicating a possible bird strike during takeoff, although the cause of the fan blade detachment remains undetermined.
The 61-year-old passenger who had his head pulled out suffered injuries to his neck, shoulder, and friction burns.
Flight attendants reported loud, continuous vibrations and observed smoke or fog filling the cabin, which led to the deployment of emergency oxygen masks.
Passengers noticed the man in a Row 11 window seat being partially lodged in the damaged window and acted swiftly to pull him back inside the cabin.
After being moved to Row 12 for medical attention from a doctor, passengers used a metal box to try to block the opening until the aircraft could land safely.
Video footage inside the aircraft showed passengers wearing oxygen masks due to the loss of cabin pressure, with one clip displaying the blown-out window and first responders working post-landing.
Fan blades had undergone inspections
Maintenance records revealed that the fan blades on the failed engine underwent ultrasonic inspections in May 2026 and November 2025, showing no damage.
However, the NTSB noted that the same engine had experienced four suspected bird strikes reported by flight crews in the past year, with bird remains found after two of them.
Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and FAA investigator, stated that the required maintenance was seemingly completed as scheduled. He emphasized the need to investigate the inspection process and potential contributions from previous bird strikes.
“We know what happened and even to some extent why it happened, but there’s still unanswered questions that the NSTB will get at,” Guzzetti mentioned.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary received a reprimand from the NTSB for prematurely discussing the investigation’s focus on foreign object damage rather than age or maintenance history.
The agency clarified that all possibilities