Ljubiša Karović was sucked out of a window of a Ryanair flight, and was kept in place by his wife who desperately clung onto his legs for five minutes
The wife of the man who was sucked out the window of a Ryanair flight window has claimed flight staff “did nothing” while her husband struggled.
Ljubiša Karović, 61, from Serbia, was travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece to Memmingen, Germany when suddenly he was sucked out of the plane’s window. His wife Svetlana desperately clung onto his legs for five agonising minutes.
The aircraft was forced to turn back and carry out an emergency landing at its departure airport following the harrowing incident. Svetlana was seated in 14C, three rows behind her husband, and still has vivid memories of the moment the window smashed.
She joined fellow passengers attempting to hold her husband in place. She said: “I rushed over too. None of the cabin crew helped. It was the passengers.
“One man, I think he was an Albanian, was incredible. He did all he could to bring him in and then tried to block the window, first with a bag that was immediately sucked out and then with a suitcase, which worked. We are eternally grateful to him.”
Ljubiša said: “They tell me I fainted twice and again inside the plane and that my face was briefly swollen and deformed because of the pressure, the rush of air. My wife reminds me about that.”
Ryanair has defended the performance of its staff saying the cabin crew did a “phenomenal job”.
Daily Star has approached the flight company for comment.
Krović has also spoken publicly about the “nightmare experience” that has left him at “rock bottom” and suffering from panic attacks.
Speaking to German news outlet Bild, he said: “I fell asleep… After some time I was woken up by a massive bang like a bomb. Only for one moment I was conscious and cannot remember the rest.”
The terrifying ordeal left Mr Karović with serious injuries, requiring him to wear a neck brace for six weeks. Since the incident, he has been experiencing a swollen and numb head, temporary paralysis on the right side of his body, and partial damage to his right ear and eye.