In mid-air, Ryanair window blows out, decompression nearly sucks out passenger
BLOW-OUT: An inside view of a Ryanair flight, FR1879, from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, on Friday, with oxygen masks dropped after a window was blown out mid-air soon after takeoff, nearly sucking out a passenger in sudden decompression. The plane landed back safely.
When the passenger was instantly being sucked out of the window gap and his head and shoulders were already out due to decompression,
his wife and fellow passengers quickly managed to grab his legs and hold him back.
The Ryanair engine fan minus the blade that was flung against a window leading to an emergeny landing.
THESSALONIKI (Greece), Jul 11: A passenger was almost thrown out of a Ryanair
flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, on Friday mid-air when
one of its windows was blown out reportedly after being shattered by a flying
piece of engine debris leading to rapid decompression in the cabin.
The 61-year-old passenger was being instantly sucked out of the plane when
fellow passengers quickly pulled him back to safety. The flight FR1879 made
a safe emergency landing.
It was only 10 minutes into flight and was at 16,000 feet when it fell steeply
by 9,000 ft (2,700 m).
Engine failure had caused fan blades to break off and the debris struck the
cabin window.
The shatter caused a sudden explosive decompression, and oxygen masks deployed
in the cabin.
The man sitting by the window was partially sucked out of the opening. His
wife and fellow passengers managed to grab his legs and hold him back.
When the aircraft returned to Thessaloniki, the injured passenger received
treatment for non-life-threatening friction burns.
An official investigation by Greek and Maltese aviation authorities was launched.
A passenger who was aboard the flight recounted the horrifying moment the explosion
occurred and the immediate chaos that followed.
He told Greek radio "the head and shoulders of the passenger were outside the
window. Fortunately he had not taken off his seatbelt." "
His wife held onto his legs for around five minutes to stop him from being
sucked out," Michalis Giannakos said.
(It is a good practice to leave your seat belts on during the whole flight,
say seasoned pilots.)
The 61-year-old Serbian national was later treated at a Greek hospital for
friction burns. He was injured, was bleeding and then lost consciousness
The budget airline said the flight returned "shortly after take-off when a
passenger window dislodged in flight".
"The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One
passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki,"
the Irish airline said.
"A replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen, " it
said.
The flight was operated by Ryanair's subsidiary, Malta Air.
What is aircraft cabin depressurisation (decompression)
It happens when the artificial air pressure inside the plane escapes, equalising
with the thin air outside. At high altitudes, this triggers a life-threatening
environment that pilots must address within seconds.
Here is how aviation depressurisation works and the exact protocols crews follow
to keep passengers safe.
Types of depressurisation
Explosive / Rapid: Occurs in less than a second (e.g., from a shattered
window or blown door). It causes a loud bang, a sudden rush of fog, flying debris,
and a violent drop in temperature.
Gradual / Slow: Occurs over minutes (e.g., from a leaking door seal).
This is highly dangerous because it is hard to detect, often leading to hypoxia
before anyone notices a problem.
The Immediate Danger: Hypoxia
At cruising altitudes (30,000 to 40,000 feet), the air is too thin to sustain
human life.
Time of Useful Consciousness (TUC): This is the window of time a person
has to act before losing cognitive function due to a lack of oxygen. At 35,000
feet: The TUC is a mere 30 to 60 seconds.
Symptoms: Euphoria, confusion, slurred speech, tunnel vision, and eventual
unconsciousness.
The Mask Rule: This short window is why safety briefings emphasize putting
your own oxygen mask on first. If you pass out, you cannot help anyone else.
The Standard Emergency Protocol
Pilots train extensively for this scenario. They follow a strict, immediate
sequence to ensure the aircraft reaches a safe altitude before cabin oxygen
runs out.
Don Oxygen Masks: Pilots immediately put on their full-face oxygen masks
to ensure they remain fully conscious and clear-headed.
Initiate Emergency Descent: The flying pilot disconnects the autopilot (or
programs it) to perform a rapid, steep descent. They turn the plane off the
main airway to avoid other traffic and tilt the nose down sharply.
Deploy Passenger Masks: If the automatic system has not already triggered
them, the crew manually deploys the cabin oxygen masks.
Level Off at 10,000 Feet: The pilots level the plane off at 10,000 feet
(approx. 3,000 metres). At this altitude, the outside air is dense enough
to breathe normally without supplemental oxygen.
Assess and Land: Once stable, the crew coordinates with air traffic control
to divert to the nearest suitable airport for an emergency landing.
Passenger Oxygen Systems
Chemical Oxygen Generators: The masks above your seat do not connect to
oxygen tanks. Instead, pulling the mask triggers a chemical reaction that
creates oxygen.
Limited Supply: These generators supply roughly 12 to 15 minutes of oxygen.
This is purposefully timed to give the pilots more than enough time to descend
safely to 10,000 feet
The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.
A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924)
(Today's headlines )
Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...
Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.
Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.
ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See:
New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)
) 
