The Ryanair passenger who was sucked head-first out of a shattered aircraft window is set to sue for millions.

Ljubiša Karović, 61, from Serbia, was travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, when his head and shoulders were left hanging outside the aircraft at 38,000 feet while his wife desperately clung to his feet for five excruciating minutes.

Five weeks after the terrifying incident that saw Mr Karovic suffer severe injuries, lawyer Vasileios Tsiaras is working with a US law firm to represent him and 35 other passengers who ‘faced death’.

The class-action lawsuit could amount to tens of millions of euros, according to Bild.

Preliminary reports by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have found the fan blade on the Boeing 737 plane broke and the window shattered from engine debris.

But flight crews had reported four suspected bird strikes to the same engine over the previous year, according to the NTSB. Bird remains were found after two of them.

Mr Tsiaras insists bird strikes could not have been the cause of the damaged window and questions the maintenance of the aircraft.

It comes as Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary spoke on The Travel Expert podcast to dismiss the claims that Mr Karović was sucked out, calling it ‘nonsensical’.

Svetlana Grković clung on to her husband Ljubiša Karović’s legs when his head and shoulders were sucked out of a plane window mid-flight

The broken window of Ryanair flight FR1879 from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, which forced the plane into an emergency landing

He said: ‘The window shatters, the oxygen masks come down, the pilots immediately take the aircraft steeply down to a non-pressurised altitude so it is a very upsetting, traumatic experience for everybody on board.

‘We’re very sorry to the passenger who was seated in row 11F… He did not, however, get sucked out the window and all these kind of nonsensical claims.’

In response, Mr Tsiaras told Bild: ‘To say that no one was outside the aircraft is ridiculous. There are approximately 70 people on the plane who witnessed this.

‘There is no doubt: Had the man not been wearing his seatbelt, he would have been sucked out the window and would not have survived.’

Witnesses have described him as dangling diagonally out of the aircraft ‘like Superman flying through the air’, as the wind lashed his face.

The lawyer added: ‘Whether we will take action against Ryanair, Boeing, the maintenance companies or the engine manufacturer – or against several of the aforementioned companies – we can only announce once the final report from the experts on the cause of the engine damage is available.’ 

Following the accident Mr Karović was ordered to wear a neck brace for six weeks.

He previously said he suffered a swollen and numb head, the right side of his body became temporarily paralysed and his right ear and right eye are also partially damaged.

The Serbian national must wear a neck brace for six weeks and suffers with acute neck and shoulder pain – he has been warned he may need an operation if this continues

After the plane landed, this photo was taken of the engine, with a blade seemingly missing 

Witnesses describe him as dangling diagonally out of the aircraft ‘like Superman flying through the air’, as the wind lashed his face

Speaking with the Daily Mail last month, he said: ‘I am lucky because my injuries could have been a lot worse. I can’t tell you what was going through my mind when I was hanging outside the plane, but I am grateful that I am still here.’

The Serbian national now suffers with acute neck and shoulder pain and doctors have warned him that he may require an operation if the pain continues.

He was also treated for burns to his face and right hand and arm caused by the high velocity wind lashing his upper torso.

As the investigation continues the question remains as to who is liable. If it is the fault of Boeing, a lawsuit would go to their US headquarters.

Mr Tsiaras said US courts typically reward higher compensation than in Europe. 

Mr O’Leary was scolded by the NTSB last month after telling investors the investigation was focused on foreign object damage, rather than a defect due to the plane’s age or maintenance history.

The agency said nothing had been ruled out and that O’Leary wasn’t authorised to discuss the investigation.

Ryanair said it would not comment further until the NTSB investigation is complete.