Ryanair disputes claims that man was partially sucked out of Ryanair plane at 15,000ft

Ryanair has revealed it will be disputing claims that a passenger's body was sucked outside the of the plane when a window on its aircraft shattered mid-flight.

Serbian businessman Ljubisa Karović was left seriously injured during the incident on an early morning flight from Greece to Germany on July 10.

Initial reports suggested the 61-year-old had been sucked out of the aircraft from the chest upwards, rending him unconscious and needing to be dragged back into the plane by his wife Svetlana and other passengers.

A flight attendant who was working onboard at the time of the incident told NTSB investigators that oxygen masks were deployed and then she saw passengers standing and calling for help.

When she moved towards the front of the plane, she described seeing the passenger 'partially lodged' in the damaged window as others pulled him back into the cabin, CBS News reports.

The incident happened on a Ryanair owned Air Malta flight (Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Ryanair 'disputing' details of incident

But despite these eyewitness accounts from crew, Ryainair CEO Michael O'Leary is now challenging the notion that Karović was partially sucked out of the window.

Speaking to reporters at the airline's annual general meeting in Dublin earlier this week, O'Leary said, per the Guardian: "He wasn't partially out the window. Part of his face didn't get out the window.

"We don't think any part of his body got out the window, but he was certainly sucked in very dramatic circumstances towards the window."

The CEO went on to say the passenger had been 'belted to the seat', adding: "We will be certainly at the end of the process disputing that he or any part of his anatomy will bend out the window."

However, O'Leary did claim that he was 'not trying to downplay it' and confirmed the airline would 'have to await the outcome of the NTSB report'.

Serbian businessman Ljubisa Karović suffered injuries from the shattered window (ABC News)

'Fan-blade-out' failure caused window to break

According to experts, the incident was caused by the engine suffering from a 'fan-blade-out' failure. This meant that one of the large rotating fan blades at the front of the engine fractured.

Pieces of the fan blade then escaped the engine area and struck the aircraft's fuselage. One of those impacts destroyed the passenger window at seat 11F. The opening caused the pressurised cabin to rapidly lose pressure.

Michael O'Leary is disputing claims the passenger was 'sucked out' the plane window (Bertrand GUAY / AFP via Getty Images)

Passenger left with serious injuries

Karović was left with serious injuries, including injuries to his neck and shoulder and friction burns.

In an interview following the incident, the 61-year-old described remembering the explosion before he lost consciousness.

"It’s the noise before the chaos, the noise that is always there when I close my eyes to sleep," he told the Guardian in July. "I am lucky. I don’t remember much and my head and neck still hurt but I am still alive.

"It could have been the seatbelt, the fact that I was still strapped in. But maybe it is fate. I believe in God and I thank him every day."

UNILAD has contacted Ryanair for comment.