NTSB says broken engine part shattered the Ryanair flight window that a man's head got sucked into

Key Points:

• A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 experienced engine failure shortly after takeoff from Thessaloniki, Greece, on July 10, when broken engine parts shattered a window, nearly sucking a 61-year-old male passenger partially out of the fuselage before fellow passengers pulled him back inside.
• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that a fan blade failure caused the window breakage and fuselage damage, with bird remains found inside the engine suggesting a bird strike during takeoff.
• Passengers and flight attendants described loud vibrations, smoke or fog inside the cabin, and deployment of oxygen masks due to cabin pressure loss; passengers used a metal box to block the broken window until landing.
• Maintenance records showed the engine's fan blades had passed recent ultrasonic inspections, but the aircraft had reported four suspected bird strikes on the same engine in the past year; the NTSB is continuing its investigation without ruling out any causes.
• The aircraft, operated by Malta Air (a Ryanair subsidiary), returned safely to Thessaloniki about an hour after takeoff, with the injured passenger receiving medical attention on the ground; this incident follows similar past engine failure events involving CFM International engines.