NTSB Preliminary Report Details Fan-Blade-Out Failure and Cabin Depressurization on Ryanair Flight FR1879
A preliminary report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that an engine fan blade fractured and separated shortly after takeoff on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany in July 2026, sending broken engine parts through a cabin window and causing a passenger to be partly sucked out of the aircraft mid-flight. The Guardian
The incident occurred on 10 July 2026 aboard flight FR1879, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Ryanair's subsidiary Malta Air. The aircraft, carrying 149 passengers and four flight attendants, was on a scheduled route from Thessaloniki, Greece to Memmingen, near Munich, Germany. Greek authorities delegated the investigation in full to the NTSB a few days after the event. The NTSB assigned the case identifier DCA26FA274 and titled its inquiry "Ryanair Uncontained Engine Failure followed by Cabin Depressurization and Passenger Window Injury." NTSB
According to the NTSB's preliminary findings, the flight experienced a No. 2 (right) engine fan-blade-out (FBO) failure during climb out from Thessaloniki International Airport (SKG). Examination of the engine and nacelle revealed that fan blade No. 10 had fractured and separated below the blade platform. The flight crew had experienced a high vibration engine alert during the climb, reduced engine power in response, and carried out a series of checks. Engine vibration then reduced, and the crew continued the climb on autopilot before vibrations increased significantly and the crew heard a loud bang. NTSB
The cabin depressurised following the structural breach. The two pilots put on their oxygen masks, declared an emergency, and began an immediate descent. They decided to return to Thessaloniki airport, where they made an uneventful landing. Flight attendants reported hearing and feeling a loud continuous vibration and seeing a small amount of fog or smoke before the oxygen masks deployed.
Serbian entrepreneur Ljubisa Karović, aged 61, was seated by the window in seat 11F. The impact of the broken engine parts shattered the window, and Karović's head and right arm were sucked out of the opening. Other passengers grabbed hold of him, preventing him from being completely sucked out of the aircraft. Karović's wife, Svetlana, later told him he had fainted several times, including after being pulled back inside the cabin. Speaking less than a fortnight after the incident, Karović told the Guardian he was lucky to be alive. He recalled not remembering much of the event but suffering from a painful head and neck. The Guardian
The investigation has also surfaced details about the aircraft's recent operational history. Four bird strikes to the plane's right engine were reported by flight crews in the twelve months preceding the incident, with bird remains reportedly found in two of those cases. Reuters separately reported that bird remains were found aboard the 737 engine involved in the July 2026 Ryanair Greek incident under NTSB investigation. Additionally, the fan blades had undergone ultrasonic inspections in recent months, with no findings noted at the time. Reuters
The broader context here involves the complex interplay of prior foreign object damage, non-destructive testing limitations, and the cascading effects of an uncontained engine failure. The NTSB's documentation of four prior bird strikes on the same engine, combined with the finding of bird remains aboard the engine after this event, raises questions about the cumulative impact of repeated wildlife interactions on blade integrity. Ultrasonic inspections are designed to detect subsurface anomalies, yet the fan blade in question fractured below the platform with no prior findings. This suggests a failure mode that either developed between inspection cycles or was not detectable through the methods employed. The depressurisation and window breach sequence also highlights the vulnerability of cabin structures to high-energy debris from an uncontained engine failure, a scenario that engine containment casings are specifically designed to prevent but cannot always fully mitigate.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space transportation. The agency determines probable causes and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences. In this case, the preliminary report establishes the factual baseline; the probable cause determination and any corresponding safety recommendations will follow as the investigation matures. For now, the focus will likely center on metallurgical analysis of the fractured blade, the relationship between prior bird strike damage and the eventual failure point, and whether existing inspection intervals and techniques are sufficient for engines with comparable operational histories. NTSB
