Ryanair's scare over Greece is not an isolated case

JSBy Joan SanzCurated by Joan Sanz. · July 12, 2026 · Follow on LinkedIn

Voice reading · ~1 min

You don't see a CFM56 7B engine shedding fan blades in mid-air every day. Last Friday, a Ryanair 737-800 flying to Thessaloniki suffered exactly that as it crossed into North Macedonian airspace. According to Preferente, this is far from a one-off: the Ryanair accident in Greece has precedents.

These engines, built by CFM International (GE and Safran's joint venture), power most of the world's single-aisle fleets. This isn't the first time they fail so spectacularly. In 2018, a similar Southwest Airlines incident triggered a global inspection campaign. The twist here is that we're talking about Ryanair, the airline with one of the youngest and most standardized fleets in Europe. That makes the alert even more relevant.

Here's my take: if an engine blows apart on an airline known for tight maintenance, the message is not panic, it's attention. Let the industry not write this off as a random scare. Let it be a prompt to double-check ground inspection protocols. Because a cabin full of terrified passengers is bad news for everyone, starting with public trust in air travel.

Quick questions

What happened to the Ryanair flight over Greece?

A Ryanair 737-800 lost several fan blades from its right engine (a CFM56 7B) during the flight to Thessaloniki. The aircraft landed safely, but passengers were in panic.

Is a fan blade failure in a jet engine dangerous?

It is a serious malfunction. However, engines are designed to contain most debris. The critical risk is debris hitting the fuselage or controls. In this case, the plane landed normally.

What engines power the Ryanair 737-800?

The CFM56 7B, one of the most widely used engines on narrowbody aircraft. It is manufactured by CFM International. All of Ryanair's 737-800s use this model.

Has this happened to Ryanair before?

According to Preferente's report, the Ryanair accident in Greece has precedents. A similar blade failure occurred on a Southwest flight in 2018, prompting a global inspection of these engines.

Should I worry about flying Ryanair or on a 737?

No. These incidents are extremely rare. The aircraft and engine have multiple redundancies. What the industry should do is review inspection protocols after this event.

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