Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary on Thursday denied claims that a passenger injured during a July flight was partially sucked out of the aircraft after a window shattered.
Ljubisa Karovic suffered neck and shoulder injuries, as well as friction burns, when the window broke shortly after the plane took off from northern Greece for Germany on July 10.
Karovic’s wife and other passengers who witnessed the incident said the sudden loss of cabin pressure pulled his head and shoulders through the broken window. His wife said she grabbed his legs while fellow passengers helped pull him back inside the aircraft.
Ryanair boss acknowledged that Karovic was injured and entitled to compensation, but rejected claims that he should receive “millions and millions.”
“He wasn’t partially out the window,” O’Leary said after the Irish budget airline’s annual general meeting in Dublin. “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.”
Karovic was wearing his seat belt when the incident occurred. Other passengers rushed to help, while flight attendants provided a metal box to cover the missing window.
According to a preliminary report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the window shattered after fragments from a broken fan blade in the right engine of the Boeing 737-800 struck the aircraft.
The debris damaged the fuselage and other parts of the plane.
