Ryanair “not downplaying” that man was sucked out of window, but will “dispute"

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has stated that the airline will dispute the account of Ljubisa Karovic, a passenger who was allegedly sucked out of a window on a Ryanair flight. On a July flight to Munich-Memmingen, a piece of the engine broke off, shattering a window and sucking the upper half of Karovic's body towards it. Karovic's life was saved by his wife and other passengers who held him in place until the plane landed.

Karovic sustained severe injuries, including burns and was hospitalized in Greece. Karovic's lawyer claimed that Ryanair cabin crew offered no assistance and only contacted Karovic to rebook their flight. However, O'Leary has clarified that while Karovic "was certainly sucked towards the window," his upper body did not get out of the window.

Ryanair has not yet commented on the US National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report which found that a fan blade likely caused the window to break and that the plane experienced an engine fan-blade-out failure during ascent. O'Leary reiterated the company's intention to wait for the full NTSB investigation before determining whether to compensate Karovic.