A piece of the engine had broken off the aircraft and smashed the window, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 4:30am, 14 Aug 2026Bird remains were found in the engine of a Ryanair Boeing 737 NG plane where a passenger was partially sucked through a broken window shortly after take-off from Greece in July, the US National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday.
The NTSB is investigating the incident where a piece of the engine broke off the plane and smashed the window. The plane, headed to Germany, lost pressure and was forced to make an emergency landing.
The NTSB said in its preliminary report into the July 10 incident that four suspected bird strikes to the plane’s No 2 engine were reported by flight crew in the 12 months preceding the accident.
“Bird remains were reportedly found in two of the cases,” although no damage was located during subsequent maintenance, it said.
The NTSB said the CFM engine made by a venture between France’s Safran and US-based General Electric had been inspected in May with no findings.
Boeing and Ryanair declined to comment on Thursday. GE and Safran were not immediately available for comment.
