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Bird strike and failure
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said bird remains were found in the engine of Ryanair Flight 1879, a Boeing 737-8AS, after a fan blade fractured in the right engine and shattered a cabin window during a July 10 flight from Greece to Germany.
“Pilots then heard a "loud bang" before the plane's autopilot shut off”
The NTSB said the aircraft was climbing past 16,000 feet when the engine began vibrating abnormally, the crew reduced engine power, and pilots then heard a "loud bang" before the autopilot shut off and a warning signaled a loss of cabin pressure.
USA TODAY reported that the incident occurred on July 10 aboard Malta Air Flight 1879, a Boeing 737-800 operating for Ryanair, during a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany.
CBS News said the No. 2 engine failure happened just minutes after takeoff from Thessaloniki, Greece, and that engine fragments breached the fuselage and caused the cabin to depressurize.
The NTSB said it was still looking at whether the incident is similar to other cases, including an April 2018 engine failure on a Southwest Airlines flight that killed a passenger who was partially sucked through the window.
What witnesses and officials said
The NTSB said the passenger in the row 11 window seat was partially pulled through the opening after the window was busted out, and other passengers helped pull him back inside the aircraft.
In a statement to The Guardian, the Serbian national and entrepreneur Ljubisa Karović said, "The explosion is what I remember," describing the noise before the "chaos, the catastrophe" as what keeps him awake at night.
USA TODAY reported that the 61-year-old passenger had serious injuries, including injuries to his head, neck and right arm, and that the aircraft landed safely back in Thessaloniki and taxied to the gate with emergency responders waiting.
Reuters reported that FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said, "I don't think the early indications are that (the recent Ryanair problem) mimics what the Southwest incident was," referring to the 2018 Southwest Airlines engine failure.
The NTSB said it found bird remains and feathers in several locations on the damaged engine, including the oil cooler, thrust reverser components, and fan case, and that samples were sent to the Smithsonian Institution's Feather Identification Lab in Washington, DC.
FAA deadlines and next steps
The NTSB said engine updates required for U.S. airlines to complete by 2028 had not been made on the aircraft, and it said the engine covers hadn’t been updated with stronger safety bolts required by recent Federal Aviation Administration rules.
“The NTSB's final report will likely come within the next 12 to 24 months”
AeroTime reported that the FAA issued three airworthiness directives in 2025 requiring modifications intended to reduce the risk of engine inlet and cowling debris striking the aircraft after a fan blade failure, and that the Ryanair aircraft had not yet received the major modifications required by those directives.
Reuters said the NTSB was investigating whether the bird strike was the sole cause of the catastrophic engine failure, while USA TODAY said investigators had not determined a cause and were still examining whether similarities to past engine failures apply.
The Business Times quoted Jeff Guzzetti, a former accident investigation chief for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, saying the investigation’s findings so far point to a bird strike likely causing the fan blade to break, and it also said the compliance deadline for the directives is July 2028.
CBS News said the NTSB’s final report will likely come within the next 12 to 24 months, per protocol, as the agency continues its probe with Greece’s Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority participating.
