For 61-year-old Serbian entrepreneur Ljubisa Karovic, the most haunting aspect of a journey that nearly cost him his life is not the blinding rush of 600-kilometre-per-hour winds or the terrifying moments spent hanging halfway out of a pressurised aircraft cabin at 15,000 feet. Instead, it is the sound.
“The explosion is what I remember,” Karovic said in an interview from a rented garden flat where he is recovering under strict medical orders. “It’s the noise before the chaos, the noise that is always there when I close my eyes to sleep.”
The harrowing incident unfolded on July 10 aboard a Ryanair flight—operated by subsidiary Malta Air, travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany. Shortly after takeoff, an apparent engine failure sent debris crashing into the fuselage, shattering an acrylic cabin window next to seat 11F and triggering an immediate, violent decompression event.
Karovic, who had been dozing, was instantly hurled chest-first through the breach by the rushing slipstream, saved only by his fastened seatbelt and the frantic heroism of those around him.
Desperate Seconds in the Slipstream
Chaos erupted in the cabin as oxygen masks deployed and loose items flew through the depressurised air. Karovic’s wife, Svetlana Grkovic, seated three rows behind him, reacted with split-second terror.
“I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs,” Grkovic recounted to local media. “I thought: ‘If we die, we die together.’ It was horrible.”
With the upper half of Karovic’s body exposed to the freezing exterior elements, Grkovic and fellow passengers, including a traveller she believes was of Albanian descent, battled the crushing aerodynamic forces to haul the unconscious man back inside. Quick-thinking passengers then worked frantically to plug the shattered window frame, initially using a bag that was instantly sucked out before successfully securing the opening with a suitcase.
The flight crew managed to execute a safe emergency turnaround, landing the aircraft back at Thessaloniki airport. Medical personnel met the flight on the tarmac, rushing Karovic to a local hospital with severe friction burns, alongside critical injuries to his neck, spine, and right arm.
International Investigations and Airline Response
As aviation authorities launch formal inquiries into the structural failure, questions are mounting over the exact sequence of events. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary stated that preliminary findings point toward a “foreign object” striking the engine, which likely caused a fan blade to shear off and breach the cabin window.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has stepped in to lead an independent investigation alongside European aviation regulators and Greek authorities. While airline executives have publicly praised the cabin crew for returning the aircraft safely, legal representatives for the Karovic family have raised concerns regarding passenger support in the aftermath.
For now, Karovic faces a gruelling physical and psychological recovery, bound to a neck brace for at least six weeks as doctors evaluate whether he will require corrective surgery.
“I am lucky,” Karovic reflected softly, staring out toward the garden. “My head and neck still hurt, but I am alive. I believe in God, and I thank him every day.”
