Ljubiša Karović, 61, was partially sucked out of a Ryanair plane window after a piece of the engine detached mid-flight and shattered the glass
A Ryanair passenger who was horrifyingly dragged through a shattered aircraft window has broken his silence about the ‘nightmare’ ordeal — and the dread he now experiences every time he hears a plane overhead.
Ljubiša Karović, 61, from Serbia, was travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece to Memmingen, Germany when his head and shoulders became suspended outside the aircraft while his wife desperately clung to his feet for five harrowing minutes.
A fragment of the engine had broken loose mid-flight and smashed through the window. The aircraft was forced to reverse course and carry out an emergency landing at its original departure airport in the wake of the dramatic incident.
Mr Karović has since spoken publicly about the “nightmare experience” that has left him at “rock bottom” and plagued by panic attacks.
In an interview with German publication Bild, he revealed: “I fell asleep… After some time I was woken up by a massive bang like a bomb. Only for one moment I was conscious and cannot remember the rest.”, reports the Daily Star.
“I had blood all over me, blood was dripping from my face and my hands. As soon as I close my eyes, images appear of the nightmare I experienced. Those few minutes, it is simply a nightmare, which I cannot explain with words.
“I am not even contemplating getting on another flight. Every time I hear an airplane, I get stress and a fever. I am not well at all when I hear an airplane.”
The traumatic incident has left Mr Karović with serious injuries, requiring him to wear a neck brace for six weeks. Following the accident, he has experienced a swollen and numb head, temporary paralysis affecting the right side of his body, and partial damage to his right ear and eye.
He has also sustained burns to his back and right hand, and fears a complete recovery is improbable. The man who previously enjoyed travelling for both work and leisure now finds his existence entirely transformed and cannot operate as he once did.
He continued: “Now everything is bothering me. The hustle and bustle bother me, I cannot walk on the street, everything bothers me. Mentally I have hit rock bottom. It has an effect on both my work and family.
“It is a complete upheaval in my life. I have no concentration. My attention can’t be focused on anything. That means I’m simply not functioning properly.”
Only last week, his wife Svetlana Grković described the frightening ordeal aboard the aircraft.
Speaking to Nova, she recalled: “I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: ‘If we die, we die together.’ It was horrible.”
Chaos erupted with certain passengers becoming distressed while others hurried to help Mr Karović.
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“Some people came to my aid, I remember one man and one woman,” she added. “That man helped me a lot, Ljubiša and I.”
Ms Grković voiced her wish to personally acknowledge the courageous passenger who proved instrumental in saving her husband’s life.
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