New footage has emerged showing the terrifying moment a passenger was partially sucked out of a Ryanair plane after a cabin window shattered during a flight from Greece to Germany. Ljubisa Karovic, 61, was sitting in seat 11F on the flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on 10 July when his right shoulder, arm and head were pulled outside the aircraft at about 16,000ft.

Preliminary findings from investigators suggest a broken fan blade in the aircraft’s right engine caused debris to smash the cabin window. The resulting sudden decompression then pulled Karovic through the opening.

Footage recovered by 60 Minutes Australia shows passengers wearing oxygen masks as shattered glass and powerful winds filled the cabin. Other passengers can be seen desperately trying to hold Karovic inside the aircraft. The struggle is believed to have lasted for up to two minutes before he was pulled back into the cabin.

Eleni Kyranou, 33, was among those who held on to him. “I did what I could to help a person, to save a life,” she told the programme. “But it still haunts me, the images and the sound has stayed with me.”

Another passenger, Sofia Lavou, filmed the incident after believing the plane was about to crash. “I said, ‘If I’m going down, at least I will have some proof of what happened’,” she said.

Karovic spent six days in hospital following the incident. Speaking two weeks later, he said he remembered little beyond the sound of the explosion. “I only remember hearing the explosion, not much else,” he said. “I can remember sitting in my seat and was looking forward to seeing my brother because the whole family was getting together to surprise him for his 60th birthday. I fell asleep quite quickly as I usually do on flights. Then there was this deafening explosion, which startled me.”

Witnesses described seeing him dangling diagonally outside the aircraft, “like Superman flying through the air”, as powerful winds struck his face.

Karovic suffered injuries to his neck and shoulders and had to wear a neck brace for six weeks. He also suffered burns to his face, right hand and arm from the high-velocity wind.

He continues to experience acute neck and shoulder pain and has been warned that he may need an operation if it persists.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation. Under international aviation rules, the agency is involved because the Boeing aircraft was assembled in the United States.

A preliminary NTSB report found that a fan blade had broken, although investigators have not yet determined why.

Maintenance records show the blades in the right engine were inspected in May 2026 and November 2025, with no damage found.

The NTSB also said flight crews had reported four suspected bird strikes involving the same engine during the previous year. Bird remains were found following two of those incidents. Ryanair has said it will not comment further until the NTSB investigation is complete.