The Ryanair CEO has said an initial finding from an investigation into an incident in which a passenger was partly sucked out of a Boeing 737’s broken window suggested “foreign object damage”.
“Initial indication would suggest it looks like a foreign object damage to the engine on takeoff at Thessaloniki, but we don’t have, we can’t say that definitively,” Michael O’Leary told analysts while presenting Ryanair’s results for the April-June quarter.
He added that a draft report on the incident would be issued in about 28 days, followed by a more detailed report.
Earlier this month, a 61-year-old man was almost sucked out of the window of a Ryanair flight after it “detached” mid-air en route to Germany.
The Serbian national, Ljubisa Karovic, was held back by fellow passengers, including his wife. He was injured and hospitalised.
Mr Karovic’s wife said he was wearing his seatbelt, which stopped him from being completely ejected, while she and two other passengers managed to pull him back into the cabin as oxygen masks were deployed and panic spread among those on board.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, while the Federal Aviation Administration said a piece of engine broke off the Boeing 737 NG and smashed the window shortly after takeoff from Thessaloniki in Greece on 10 July.
The plane lost cabin pressure and was forced to make an emergency landing.
