Ryanair C.E.O. Disputes Account of Passenger Sucked Out of Plane Window

The chief executive of the Irish budget airline Ryanair on Thursday strongly disputed reports that a passenger was partly sucked out of the shattered window of one of the airline’s planes mid-flight in July.The chief executive, Michael O’Leary, contended that the man remained securely belted in his seat after his window shattered during the flight, which was operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair.The plane had taken off from Thessaloniki, Greece, and was flying at about 16,000 feet at the time, en route to Germany.“We don’t think any part of his body got out the window, but he was certainly sucked in very dramatic circumstances towards the window,” Mr.

O’Leary, responding to a question about the passenger’s ordeal, said at a news conference after the airline’s annual general meeting in Dublin.Mr.O’Leary added, “He wasn’t partially out the window, and his wife, who claims that she saved him by hanging on to his feet, is certainly somewhat delusional, given that she was sitting in a seat three rows behind him.”The passenger’s lawyer, Vasilis Tsiaras, said in an interview on Thursday that his client’s head, hand and part of his upper body were pulled out of the window of the Boeing 737 and that his wife had rushed from a row behind her husband to help him, along with other passengers.

He said that his client, Ljubisa Karovic, 61, who lives in Serbia, had injuries to his armpit and hand that supported his account, and that four or five other witnesses saw Mr.Karovic being pulled partly out of the window.“I have eyewitnesses who were on the plane and saw what happened,” Mr.

Tsiaras said.“So I think Mr.

O’Leary is delusional — not my client or his wife.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank yo...