Ryanair sent rebooking email to passenger who was sucked out of plane window

Ryanair's response to a passenger being partially sucked out of a Boeing 737 window at 15,000ft amounted to rebooking emails sent to his son, the survivor has claimed.

Ljubisa Karovic, 61, a Serbian businessman, was hauled back into the aircraft by his wife and fellow passengers after the cabin window next to his seat shattered on flight FR1879 from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on July 10.

Mr Karovic said: "All we've had is emails to my son, who booked our flights, asking if we want to rebook and asking how I was.

"But nobody from the company has contacted me directly, not even a phone call to show any concern."

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His wife Svetlana Grkovic Maksimovic described the airline's failure to reach out as "disgusting."

Mr Karovic had been dozing in seat 11F, a window seat he received without paying extra, when an explosion he likened to a bomb detonating ripped through the cabin roughly 20 minutes after departure.

The Boeing 737 was climbing through 15,000ft at nearly 500mph when the window disintegrated, and the violent decompression dragged his head, right shoulder and arm outside the fuselage.

Ms Maksimovic, seated three rows behind in an aisle seat as the couple had opted not to pay to sit together, watched her husband begin to vanish through the opening.

She leapt forward and seized his legs, prompting nearby passengers to join the effort.

The struggle to pull him back inside is thought to have lasted approximately two minutes.

Witnesses described Mr Karovic hanging diagonally from the aircraft "like superman flying through the air," though he has no recollection of the ordeal, having lost consciousness immediately.

He said: "I don't remember anything at all because I immediately passed out."

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He was treated for burns to his face, right hand and arm inflicted by the ferocious wind, and now wears a neck brace prescribed for six weeks.

Surgery may be required if persistent neck and shoulder pain does not subside.

He told the Daily Mail: "I can't even sleep at night, all I can hear when I close my eyes is the sound of an explosion and then there is chaos in my head."

Ms Svetlana accused the cabin crew of remaining strapped in their seats throughout the crisis.

She said: "They looked more scared than us. It was only the passengers who helped and were brave."

Neil Sorahan, the airline's group chief financial officer, previously said: "Our crew did a phenomenal job and got the aircraft back to Thessaloniki. Everyone bar none walked off the aircraft."

The airline maintained that cabin crew assisted Mr Karovic once the plane descended to a safe altitude and arranged for an onboard doctor to sit with the couple.

The US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating and is expected to produce a draft report within roughly 28 days.

Greek lawyer Vasilis Tsiaras, representing the couple, has pledged to pursue "significant compensation" and full accountability for the incident.

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