Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said the airline will be ‘disputing’ that any part of a passenger’s body was sucked out of a window midflight, as an NTSB investigation continues
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has stated that the airline will be “disputing” claims that any part of a passenger’s body was sucked out of a window during a flight.
Ljubisa Karovic, 61, sustained neck and shoulder injuries when the window shattered during a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen near Munich, Germany, on July 10. The incident is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the US.
Speaking to journalists following Ryanair’s annual general meeting in Dublin on Thursday, Mr O’Leary said the passenger was “certainly sucked towards the window, but he didn’t get out the window”.
When asked if the passenger was partially out of the window, he responded: “He wasn’t partially out the window.”
He continued: “No, no, no. Part of his face didn’t get out the window. 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.”
Mr O’Leary confirmed that the passenger was “belted into the seat” and added: “We will be certainly at the end of the process disputing that he or any part of his anatomy will bend out the window.”
The airline chief recognised that the man had suffered injuries and added: “We’re not trying to downplay it.” Mr O’Leary told reporters: “Look, that incident is being investigated by the NTSB, and we have to await the outcome of the NTSB report.”
When asked if Ryanair had conducted any checks or repairs as a result of the incident, he replied: “There’s nothing we can do at the moment. We are a participant in the investigation with Boeing, with the NTSB, with GE on the engine side.
“Most of the focus is what happened to the engine. Why was it not self-contained within the cowl of the engine?”
Mr O’Leary stated they were in contact with the passenger’s solicitor and recognised he was due “some compensation”, but he did not believe there was any grounds for “any class action” or a payout of “millions and millions”.
Mr Karovic, a Serbian businessman, previously told The Guardian he was “still strapped in” with his seatbelt. Svetlana, Mr Karovic’s wife, added that she held onto his legs for five minutes after he was sucked towards the window.
Svetlana, Mr Karovic’s wife, expressed to the newspaper that they were “eternally grateful” to one passenger who she believes is Albanian for his role in the rescue.
She said: “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.”
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