Passenger partially sucked out of plane after ‘window dislodged in-flight’
A Ryanair jet lands at Stansed airport February 4, 2003 in London, United Kingdom. Note: This is not a picture of the plane involved in Friday's incident. (Credit: Ian Waldie/Getty Images)
THESSALONIKI, Greece - A passenger on board a flight from Greece to Germany was being treated in a hospital on Friday after reportedly being partially sucked out of a window when it broke mid-flight.
Passenger partially sucked out of plane during flight
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The airline Ryanair said the Friday morning flight from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to Memmingen near Munich "returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged in-flight." The flight was operated by Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air.
Passengers told Greek media that they heard a loud bang nearly an hour into the flight. Oxygen masks dropped, and the plane began to lose altitude.
About six minutes after departure, flight records show, the aircraft climbed past 15,000 feet, then immediately descended to about 6,000 feet (1,830 meters) "to burn fuel for 30 minutes" before returning to Thessaloniki about an hour after takeoff, Flightradar24 said.
One passenger told Thessaloniki radio that passengers panicked and screamed and that one passenger was partially sucked out of the window.
"His whole head, neck, shoulders" were pulled out of the window, she said, adding that those seated near him pulled him back in.
Passenger received medical assistance
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The airline said in a statement that the plane landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal, and one passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.
The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800, which can seat up to 189 passengers. The narrow-body plane was delivered new to Ryanair in 2008, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.
A replacement aircraft was later provided to fly the passengers to Germany.
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According to a hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the 61-year-old passenger was treated for neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns.
The Source: This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.