Broken engine parts shattered the Ryanair plane window that a passenger’s head got sucked into: NTSB

Broken engine parts shattered a window on a Ryanair plane shortly after takeoff in Greece last month, causing a man’s head to be sucked into the hole in the fuselage before his fellow passengers pulled him to safety, U.S. investigators said Thursday.

The parts that flew out of the engine after a fan blade broke shattered the window and damaged the fuselage in several other places, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its report.

The incident happened shortly after the flight took off from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on July 10. The NTSB said it found bird remains inside the engine, suggesting the plane may have struck birds as it took off.

The 61-year-old man who was nearly sucked out of the plane suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns before his fellow passenger pulled him back inside the Boeing 737-800.

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