New Delhi: Ultra-low-cost airline Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has disputed the claim that any part of a passenger’s body was sucked out of the plane when one of its windows broke mid-flight in July this year, Good Morning America reported.
Dismissing the passenger’s allegations, O’Leary said, “We don’t think any part of his body got out the window, but he was certainly sucked in very dramatic circumstances towards the window.”
O’Leary also called the passenger’s wife “somewhat delusional” after she claimed to have held him by his legs to prevent him from being sucked out. He alleged that the wife was actually seated three rows behind her husband.
O’Leary’s comments came last Thursday as he addressed reporters following Ryanair’s annual general meeting in Dublin. He said he would challenge the passenger’s account while awaiting the outcome of the US National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation into the incident.
While the CEO stressed that he was not trying to downplay the incident, he also said the passenger was entitled to “some compensation”, but not a multi-million-euro payout, ABC News reported.
The NTSB has criticised O’Leary for discussing the incident publicly while the investigation is still underway.
Serious neck and shoulder injuries
The incident took place on 10 July, shortly after take-off, when passenger Ljubisa Karović alleged that he was lifted out of his seat, pulled into the plane’s airstream and hung headfirst out of the window. According to his legal team, Karović’s seatbelt prevented him from being sucked completely out of the aircraft.
The 61-year-old Serbian businessman suffered serious neck and shoulder injuries and was hospitalised. His wife later shared images of the shattered window and dangling oxygen masks from inside the plane.
The Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS, operated by the airline’s subsidiary Malta Air, was flying from Greece to Germany. An engine failure reportedly caused debris to shatter the plane’s acrylic window, resulting in sudden depressurisation.
The flight was then forced to make an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, from where it had taken off. Karović received medical attention on the ground soon after.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)