Broken Engine Fan Blade Caused Serious Ryanair Mid-Air Incident, Preliminary

Broken Engine Fan Blade Caused Serious Ryanair Mid-Air Incident, Preliminary A preliminary investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board NTSB has found that a broken engine fan blade caused a serious incident on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany last month. The Ryanair Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, Germany, on 10 July when a fan blade in its right-hand engine broke apart shortly after take-off. Debris from the engine penetrated the aircraft’s fuselage and shattered a passenger window, causing the cabin to rapidly depressurise.

The broken window led to one of the most frightening moments of the incident. A passenger seated beside the window was partially pulled out of the aircraft, with his head and right arm passing through the opening. Fellow passengers and crew members managed to pull him back inside. The passenger, identified as 61-year-old Ljubisa Karović, suffered serious injuries and was subsequently treated in hospital. The aircraft was carrying 149 passengers and four crew members. The pilots received warnings of high engine vibration before hearing a loud bang and ultimately returned to Thessaloniki for an emergency landing. Investigators found bird remains and feathers inside the damaged engine, raising the possibility that previous bird strikes contributed to the fan-blade failure.

The NTSB said the same engine had been involved in four suspected bird strikes during the previous year, with bird remains confirmed in two of those incidents. However, investigators have not yet established that a bird strike caused the fan blade to fail.

The engine’s fan blades had undergone ultrasonic inspections in November 2025 and May 2026, with no damage detected at those inspections. Investigators are continuing to examine the engine and its maintenance history. The NTSB is leading the investigation after being asked by Greek authorities to examine the incident. Ryanair, Boeing and engine manufacturer CFM International are assisting investigators. The preliminary report does not establish a final cause. Investigators will continue examining whether bird strikes, metal fatigue, maintenance history or other factors contributed to the fan blade failure. The aircraft eventually landed safely back in Thessaloniki, but the incident has raised fresh questions about the protection of Boeing 737 engines against uncontained fan-blade failures.