The flight in Greece last month climbed to about 16,000 feet, less than 10 minutes after takeoff, when the aircraft’s engine began vibrating.
The shaking intensified. A loud bang was heard and the cabin’s altitude warning alarm blared, and oxygen masks dropped for 149 passengers. One window shattered, and a 61-year-old man had his head sucked out the window, with his wife and other passengers pulling at his legs and body.
In a report released on Thursday, federal investigators said they had found a bird’s remains on a damaged engine fan from the flight, which was operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair. The engine’s blades had ricocheted across the fuselage and cracked the window, according to a preliminary investigation released by the National Transportation Safety Board, which conducted the investigation at the direction of Greek authorities.
The man, from Serbia, lived. He was hospitalized in Thessaloniki, Greece, with friction burns. His current condition is unclear.
The report offers insight into the terrifying moments aboard the flight to Memmingen, Germany, on a Boeing 737. The flight eventually returned to Thessaloniki International Airport.
The full investigation will take about a year to two years to complete, according to the N.T.S.B.
A representative with Ryanair declined to comment until the investigation is completed. A Boeing representative said it would continue to support the inquiry conducted by the N.T.S.B.
The flight attendants prepared for cabin service on July 10 when they heard and felt a “loud continuous vibration,” investigators said. They also reported a “small” amount of fog and smoke.
The passengers grabbed their oxygen masks when the crew noticed people standing and asking for help. The man was partly pulled outside before others pulled him to safety.
One passenger retrieved a metal box to cover the broken window. A doctor, another passenger aboard, treated the 61-year-old man, investigators said.
The engine’s fan blades had broken and struck the plane’s fuselage and another portion of the plane. The blade shattered the passenger’s window in Row 11 and damaged the plane’s exterior, investigators said.
The captain, who was not identified, had tallied 8,270 flight hours. A majority of flight time was spent with an aircraft the same make and model as the Ryanair plane at the center of the aviation inquiry, according to the report, and aviation tracking sites said the aircraft had been flying since 2008.
The engine’s fan blades had been inspected most recently in May, and employees did not flag any findings, according to the report.
The plane’s engine is suspected to have been hit by birds four times in the 12 months leading up to the strike last month, investigators said.
Bird strikes on planes are a common problem. Last year, six people aboard a tourist helicopter died after it was most likely struck by a flock of geese before crashing into the Hudson River near Jersey City, N.J.
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