Broken engine parts shattered a window on a Ryanair flight shortly after takeoff in Greece last month, causing a passenger’s head to be sucked through the opening before fellow travellers pulled him back inside, US investigators said on Thursday.
According to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board, a fan blade in the right engine of the Boeing 737-800 broke loose, sending fragments out of the engine.
The debris shattered the window and damaged the aircraft’s fuselage in several other places.
Greece handed the investigation to the US agency under international aviation rules.
The July 10 incident occurred shortly after the flight departed Thessaloniki in northern Greece.
Investigators found bird remains inside the engine, suggesting the aircraft may have struck birds during takeoff. They have not yet determined what caused the fan blade to break loose.
The 61-year-old passenger suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns.
Flight attendants told investigators they heard and felt loud, continuous vibration before seeing smoke or fog fill the cabin. Oxygen masks then dropped from the ceiling.
One flight attendant noticed passengers standing and calling for help. The passenger, who was seated by the window in row 11, was partially lodged in the damaged window before other passengers pulled him back into the cabin.
He was moved to row 12, where a doctor travelling on the aircraft treated him.
Other passengers retrieved a metal box from the flight attendants and used it to cover the opening until the plane landed.
Videos recorded inside the aircraft and shared by Radio Thessaloniki showed passengers wearing oxygen masks after the cabin lost pressure.
Another video appeared to show the damaged window, with a man seated nearby wearing an oxygen mask. A third video, apparently filmed after landing, showed emergency responders working in the aisle.
Maintenance records showed that the fan blades in the right engine underwent ultrasonic inspections in May 2026 and November 2025, with no damage found.
However, flight crews had reported four suspected bird strikes involving the same engine over the previous year, according to the NTSB. Bird remains were found after two of those incidents.
Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration investigator who reviewed the preliminary report, said the required maintenance appeared to have been carried out on schedule.
He said investigators would likely examine how the inspections were conducted and whether the earlier suspected bird strikes contributed to existing damage.
“We know what happened and even to some extent why it happened, but there’s still unanswered questions that the NTSB will get at,” Guzzetti said.
The NTSB last month reprimanded Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary after he told investors that the investigation was focused on foreign object damage rather than the aircraft’s age or maintenance history.
The agency said investigators had not ruled anything out and that O’Leary was not authorised to discuss the investigation.
Ryanair said on Thursday that it would not comment further until the NTSB investigation is completed.
Boeing and CFM International, the engine manufacturer, said they were assisting with the investigation.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued three directives last year requiring airlines to strengthen parts of engine coverings on Boeing 737 aircraft after two previous fan blade failures sent pieces of the coverings flying.
In one of those accidents, a Southwest Airlines passenger was killed in 2018 after debris struck the fuselage and knocked out a window, causing the cabin to rapidly lose pressure.
The directives, which took effect in April 2025, require modifications designed to prevent pieces of the engine covering from breaking away and striking the aircraft if a fan blade fails.
The changes include replacing certain fasteners and spacers that attach the engine’s inlet covering and revising maintenance and inspection programmes.
The FAA gave airlines until July 2028 to complete the major modifications.
The NTSB report said the required changes had not yet been made to the Ryanair aircraft.
Guzzetti said the latest incident could lead the FAA and NTSB to consider bringing the deadline forward.
“It takes time to do the maintenance, to get the parts, and the risk at the time was assessed such that the industry could probably wait that long. Now with this event,” Guzzetti said, “that may change things.”
The FAA declined to comment on whether the July 2028 deadline could change, citing the ongoing investigation.
The agency said it closely supports the NTSB and will “take any necessary safety actions based on the evidence.”
The Boeing 737-800, which can carry up to 189 passengers, was delivered new to Ryanair in 2008, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
Flight records showed the aircraft climbed above 15,000 feet about six minutes after departure before descending to about 6,000 feet “to burn fuel for 30 minutes” and returning to Thessaloniki about an hour after takeoff, Flightradar24 reported.
The flight was operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget carrier.
The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal.
One passenger requested and received medical assistance after landing, the airline said in a statement issued at the time.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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