According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), bird remains and feathers were found inside the damaged right engine of a Malta Air Boeing 737-800 operating for Ryanair following an in-flight engine failure on July 10, 2026. The aircraft was climbing through 16,000 feet en route from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, when a fan blade fractured.
Engine debris struck and shattered a passenger window in Row 11, causing rapid cabin depressurization and injuring a passenger before the flight returned safely to Thessaloniki. The NTSB noted that the same engine had been involved in four other suspected bird strikes during the prior 12 months. Maintenance inspections and earlier ultrasonic testing had reported no damage prior to the accident.
