The passenger who was about to be sucked out of an airplane window has spoken for the first time about the accident

A Serbian passenger who narrowly avoided being sucked out through an airplane window has spoken publicly for the first time since the incident, describing the harrowing moments following the cabin’s sudden decompression. Ljubisa Karović, 61, recounted his experience during a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair. More than two weeks after the event, Karović gave an interview to The Guardian, detailing how he survived the near-catastrophic situation with injuries including burns and bruises on his right arm and a need for a cervical collar. Karović described hearing an explosion before chaos ensued. “What I remember is the explosion,” he said. “It was the noise that precedes the chaos, the sound that always comes when I close my eyes to sleep.” He explained that due to his injuries, he still struggles to fully reconstruct the sequence of events. “I don’t remember much, and my head and neck still hurt, but I’m alive. It could have been the seatbelt keeping me attached. Maybe it was fate. I believe in God and thank Him every day. I am lucky,” he added. Karović received medical clearance four days ago. According to his wife, Svetlana Grković, Karović lost consciousness twice during the emergency. She told local media that his face swelled and distorted briefly due to the pressure and gust of air. “They tell me I fainted twice inside the plane and that my face swelled and deformed temporarily because of the pressure, the gust of wind,” he said. Karović’s lawyer in Greece, Vasilis Tsiaras, stated that the passenger survived due to a combination of fortunate circumstances. “Ljubisa was on the edge of death. When the cabin lost pressure, he was thrown out of the window, chest-first, and immediately lost consciousness,” Tsiaras said. He added that Karović was traveling to Germany to celebrate his brother’s birthday but instead found himself at 4,500 meters above ground, with his head and right arm outside the aircraft moving at over 600 kilometers per hour. “He looked death in the eye and came back,” Tsiaras said. Karović, owner of an aluminum factory in Serbia and accustomed to business travel, admitted he finds it difficult to imagine getting back on a plane. Doctors advised him to wear a cervical collar for at least six weeks while they assess whether surgery will be necessary. “There are images that come back to my mind, the sound of the explosion, the chaos, but I want to recover,” he said during his interview with the British newspaper. He also questioned the response he received after the incident: “And yes, there should be compensation. Not just emails focused on rescheduling the flight.” The incident occurred on July 10, approximately ten minutes after takeoff on a flight operated by Malta Air, a Ryanair subsidiary, traveling from Thessaloniki to Memmingen. According to flight tracking data, the aircraft descended nearly 2,700 meters after the incident occurred. In statements to Serbian and Greek media, Grković described the moment the window detached and caused the cabin to lose pressure. “Half of his body was outside the plane,” she said to the Nova news outlet. Karović, who suffered severe injuries, emphasized the importance of using seatbelts during flights. “Make sure you always use your seatbelt. I don’t want anyone else to suffer what I went through,” he said in his interview. His account provides a chilling insight into the dangers of in-flight emergencies and the critical role of safety measures in such situations.