Man who was nearly sucked out of Ryanair plane says he is 'mentally destroyed'

Ljubisa Karovic who was nearly sucked through a broken window on a Ryanair flight, says he is grateful that he survived but is still struggling with his ordeal, ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery reports

The man who survived nearly being sucked out of a mid-air Ryanair flight has said he is traumatised by the experience and faces a long road to recovery.

Speaking from Greece, Serbian national Ljubisa Karovic shared his story with German newspaper Bild, saying: “As soon as I close my eyes, I see pictures of what I experienced, those few minutes, it’s a nightmare.

He said he was asleep when the window was breached, saying he was woken by what sounded like a bomb going off.

“For a moment I was conscious, but then I don’t remember anything until they woke me – I was covered in blood.”

Ljubisa Karovic and Svetlana Grkovic. / Credit: Ljubisa Karovic/Facebook

The incident happened soon after take-off on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft which departed the Greek city of Thessaloniki bound for Memmingen, Germany.

The plane was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing back in Thessaloniki.

Karovic suffered numerous friction burns and serious injuries to his spine and shoulder.

He said: “I can’t go out, everything bothers me, mentally I am destroyed, this has had a huge impact on my life. Whenever I hear the sound of a plane, I become stressed.”

He was discharged from hospital last week and is currently recovering in a rented villa near Thessaloniki with his wife, Svetlana Grkovic.

Ms Grkovic previously told the Serbian media outlet Nova she grabbed her husband the moment the window smashed, and held onto his legs to stop him from being dragged out of the plane.

“I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: ‘If we die, we die together.’ It was horrible,” she told the publication.

She said many passengers were paralysed with fear, but several came to help and together they managed to cling onto her husband.

Doctors have said his recovery will take months and he may still need surgery.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said initial reports indicate a “foreign object” appeared to hit the plane’s engine, causing a fan blade to snap off and hit the window, causing a “depressurisation event.”

He said the engine had been fully serviced in the past two years.

Ryanair said in a statement after the incident: “A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (10 July) returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight.

“The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.”

Ryanair found a replacement aircraft, and the other passengers on the plane were able to complete their journey the same day.