[REVISION HISTORY]

Ryanair window blowout: NTSB finds fatigue and maintenance l

Updated 19 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-10 17:57 UTC → 2026-09-11 05:26 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The technical investigation into the July 10, 2026, window blowout on Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air flight FR1879 has expanded to include specific maintenance deficiencies and metal fatigue. While bird remains were found in the engine, suggesting a possible strike, the NTSB has not concluded that a strike caused the failure. Investigators found that approximately 37 percent of the fractured fan blade’s surface showed signs of “high-amplitude fatigue” caused by repeated stress. Maintenance deficiencies were also identified, including fan blades that fractured because fasteners lacked recommended enhancers and an overdue mandated enhancement for engine exhaust nozzle brackets. The investigation is also examining the maintenance intervals of the 18-year-old Boeing 737-800 and why an engine component was not self-contained within the engine cowl. Preliminary reports suggest that fragments from a broken fan blade in the right engine struck and shattered the window. The incident, which occurred at approximately 15,000 to 16,000 feet during a flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, resulted in the partial ejection of 61-year-old Ljubisa Karović. Karović sustained serious physical and psychological injuries, including multiple contusions, facial swelling, severe frostbite, and temporary paralysis on the right side of his body. Legal representative Vasileios Tsiaras is preparing a multi-million euro lawsuit on behalf of Karović and 35 other passengers. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has disputed claims that the passenger was sucked out of the aircraft. While O’Leary acknowledged the passenger was “certainly sucked towards the window” and “pulled toward the window in very dramatic circumstances,” he maintains that “any part of his body went out through the window” is incorrect, denying that any part of the man’s anatomy actually exited the aircraft. Karović’s wife, Svetlana, has countered this, describing him as being “half in and half out” of the plane.

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