14/07/2026 19:29 - Internacionales
On July 10, 2026, at 06:00 local time, a flight operated by the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair took off from the Greek city of Thessaloniki bound for Memmingen, Germany. What promised to be a quiet trip turned into a scene of terror just minutes after takeoff, as the aircraft ascended over the airspace of North Macedonia.
According to authorities and witnesses who spoke to media outlets like Deutsche Welle, the plane's right engine suffered a catastrophic failure. Some of its fragments impacted the fuselage and shattered a passenger window, causing a sudden cabin decompression.
The suction was so powerful that a passenger, identified by the Greek press as a 61-year-old Serbian tourist, became trapped against the broken window. “The head and shoulders of a passenger were outside the window. Luckily, he hadn't taken off his seatbelt,” a passenger recounted to the local radio station Radio Thessaloniki.
His wife, speaking to the Greek channel Mega, described the horror of the moment: “We had been flying for about 30 or 40 minutes when the window suddenly exploded. My husband was sitting next to it and half of his body ended up outside the plane.” It was then that other passengers, in an act of immense bravery and solidarity, managed to pull the man back inside the cabin, saving his life.
The passenger was hospitalized in Thessaloniki with friction burns and head injuries, although doctors confirmed he is out of danger and in stable condition, after having been admitted in a state of shock.
It was a Boeing 737NG 800, delivered in 2008 to Malta Air (a Ryanair subsidiary). Boeing contacted the airline to collaborate on the investigation.
The plane was equipped with two CFM56-7B26 engines, manufactured by CFM International (a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran).
Despite the terror experienced by the passengers—who believed the plane was going to crash while using the oxygen masks—the pilot managed to land safely and normally during an emergency landing at Thessaloniki airport. Ryanair arranged a replacement aircraft so passengers could continue their journey to Germany.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed that North Macedonia will lead the investigation into the incident, supported by experts from the FAA, Boeing, and General Electric Aerospace.
Without a doubt, the combination of wearing a seatbelt and the swift reaction of fellow passengers turned a potential tragedy into a story of hope and a true miracle in the skies.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
