Witnesses claim that a man was partially sucked out of a broken window aboard a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany on Friday.
According to CBS News, the incident occurred aboard a Boeing 737-800 aircraft traveling from Thessaloniki, Greece to Memmingen, Germany.
"Most of us had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. There was a noise, like a tire bursting," one passenger told Radio Thessaloniki.
"We immediately realized there had been a decompression. There were screams...for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door," the woman added "The masks dropped and there was a strong smell. The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn't taken off his seat belt."
Citing an unnamed Greek hospital official, the Associated Press reported that a 61-year-old man from the flight was treated for neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns.
In a statement, Ryanair confirmed that the plane "returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window detached during the flight. The aircraft landed normally and the passengers returned to the terminal."
"We are in contact with the FAA as state of design of the aircraft as well as the engine manufacturer," the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in a statement to CBS News. "We will follow the situation closely as more information emerges and take any continued airworthiness action needed to ensure safety."
"The Boeing 737-800 returned safely to Thessaloniki Airport in Greece, Friday, July 10 around 7:10 a.m. local time after experiencing a broken window," the FAA confirmed, adding that it "stands ready" to assist in the investigation.
Greek media reported that the window was broken by a piece of debris that detached from one of the plane's engines. Friday's scary incident comes nearly a decade after a woman was killed after being partially sucked out of a shattered window aboard a Southwest Airlines plane.
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