The wife of a man who was partially sucked out of a Ryanair plane window has spoken out about the terrifying ordeal for the first time.
Svetlana Grković, from Serbia, had to quickly jump into action to rescue her husband Ljubiša, 61, who found himself hanging outside the Boeing 737-800 after a cabin window shattered during flight FR1879 on Friday, July 10.
Svetlana immediately grabbed hold of his legs as the couple faced what appeared to be certain death on the flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany.
Now, she has spoken to Serbian media about the horrifying incident, defiantly exclaiming: "If we die, we die together."
The flight had departed at 5.55am local time when the pilot detected an engine malfunction while over North Macedonian airspace.
A decision was made to turn the aircraft around and head back to the Greek departure point.
During the descent, catastrophe struck when a section of the faulty engine broke away from the plane and smashed into a cabin window beside Ljubiša's seat.
She said: "It was as if a piece of the engine had broken off and struck the window next to where my husband, Ljubiša, was sitting. Fortunately, he was wearing his seatbelt. When the window shattered, cabin decompression occurred."
Svetlana Grkovic with husband Ljubisa Karovic were involved in the terrifying incident
|FACEBOOK/LJUBISA KAROVIC
The impact shattered the window entirely, triggering immediate cabin decompression at high altitude.
The sudden pressure change pulled the 61-year-old through the opening, leaving half his body dangling outside the aircraft while it remained airborne.
Svetlana recounted the horrifying moments to Serbian outlet Nova, describing her instinctive reaction to save her husband.
She explained that the force of the pressure dragged her husband outwards, though his safety belt prevented him from being completely ejected.
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The aftermath of the plane once the flight had landed | X / R THESSShe continued: "I reacted immediately and grabbed him by the legs. I thought to myself: 'If we die, we die together.' It was terrifying."
For approximately five minutes, Svetlana maintained her grip while fellow passengers rushed to assist, including a man and woman whom she credited with helping save her husband's life.
Ljubiša is currently receiving treatment in hospital following the traumatic incident.
His wife revealed that his hand sustained serious damage during the ordeal and he has suffered multiple burns across his body from the friction of being pulled through the window opening.
The flight was forced to return to Thessaloniki Airport
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The 61-year-old remains in a condition of severe shock and has lost the ability to speak as a result of his injuries.
Ms Grković told Nova that her husband lost consciousness on several occasions while hanging from the aircraft and consequently has little recollection of the events.
A Ryanair spokesman confirmed the sequence of events, stating that the flight "returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight".
The airline said the aircraft touched down without further incident and all passengers were brought back to the terminal building.
The budget airline confirmed the incident took place (stock image)
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According to the carrier, one passenger sought medical attention upon arrival at Thessaloniki, which was duly provided.
To limit disruption for the remaining travellers, Ryanair organised a substitute aircraft to complete the journey to the German destination.
This replacement flight departed from Thessaloniki at 9.53am local time on the same morning.
It is understood that oxygen masks were activated during the emergency as the captain announced the situation over the aircraft's public address system.