WATCH | Passenger on Malta Air-operated flight sucked out of plane window

A passenger was left partially hanging out of a cabin window after it became dislodged during a Ryanair flight shortly after take-off from Greece on Friday morning.

The aircraft involved is reported to have been an 18-year-old Boeing 737 operated by Malta Air, Ryanair's Maltese subsidiary.

According to witness accounts reported by Greek and German media, the passenger, a Serbian man believed to be in his 60s, was left hanging head-first out of the aircraft as far as his shoulders for several minutes before fellow passengers managed to pull him back inside.

One passenger described the situation to the media and said “fortunately, he hadn't taken off his seat belt.”

The incident occurred on a Ryanair flight travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany.

A video circulating on social media shows a woman using an oxygen mask, whilst showing the cracked aircraft window the victim was sitting next to. 

Ryanair confirmed that the aircraft returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off after "a passenger window dislodged inflight".

"The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki," the airline said.

The airline added that a replacement aircraft was arranged to transport passengers to Memmingen several hours later.

Ryanair has not yet commented on what caused the window to become dislodged, although passengers speaking to the media suspect it was “smashed by pieces of the jet’s engine,” BBC quoted.

Passengers quoted by German and Greek media said they heard a loud bang shortly after the Boeing 737 became airborne, followed by the cabin window breaking and oxygen masks deploying.

"There were screams... for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door," another passenger told Radio Thessaloniki.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said it is aware of the incident involving the Malta Air-operated aircraft.

"The IAA will provide any requested assistance to the aviation safety investigation authority in Greece and the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate to aid their investigation," the authority said.

Questions have been sent to the Transport Ministry.