Dozens of travelers experienced moments of terror aboard a Ryanair flight after one of the passenger cabin windows shattered just minutes after takeoff, leading to a sudden drop in cabin pressure and injuring one passenger, before the pilot managed to return the plane and land safely.
According to the Greek television and radio authority (ERT), along with testimonies from several passengers, a loud sound echoed within the aircraft before the window next to a approximately 61-year-old passenger shattered, causing oxygen masks to deploy automatically with the sudden drop in cabin pressure.
Passengers confirmed that the force of the air rush partly pushed the man toward the damaged window, while several people seated near him, including his wife, hurried to grab and hold him until the pilot was able to control the situation and decided to return to the departure airport.
After the plane landed safely, the passenger was taken to the hospital, where initial reports indicated he sustained a neck injury, while no other serious injuries were reported among the travelers.
For its part, Ryanair confirmed the incident, explaining that the aircraft, which was operating a flight between the Greek city of Thessaloniki and the German city of Memmingen, returned to the airport shortly after takeoff due to one of the cabin windows being damaged during the flight.
The company added that the injured passenger received necessary medical attention after landing, while the rest of the passengers were transferred to their destination on an alternative flight.
The causes of the incident are still under investigation, as the event has brought attention back to safety standards in the aviation sector, especially among low-cost airlines that millions of travelers in Europe, including a large number of Moroccans, rely on.
