The US National Transportation Safety Board has found bird remains and feathers in the damaged right engine of a Ryanair-operated Boeing 737-8AS that suffered an uncontained engine failure over Thessaloniki, Greece, on 10 July. The preliminary findings show the fan blade fractured shortly after takeoff, sending fragments through the fuselage and depressurising the cabin. One passenger was seriously injured, while the crew returned the aircraft for an uneventful landing.
Investigators are examining whether the event resembles earlier fan-blade-out accidents, including previous Southwest Airlines cases cited in the report. The engine had recorded four earlier suspected bird strikes in the previous 12 months, with bird remains found in two of those events. It had been inspected before the accident, including ultrasonic checks in November 2025 and May 2026, with no damage detected.
The investigation remains open and is being led by the NTSB after delegation from Greece’s HARSIA, with support from the FAA, Boeing and GE Aerospace. The engine had not yet been modified with certain FAA-recommended reinforcements referenced in 2025 airworthiness directives, although investigators have not linked that omission to the failure.