People and cultures all over the world believe in so many myths about good luck charms. To most of us, these charms are as simple as four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, and dream catchers, but a Chinese woman went as far as throwing coins into the plane engine while boarding a flight from Shanghai to Guangzhou. According to the Chinese media, this caused a delay of five hours to the flight.
At Shanghai Pudong International Airport, passengers of the China Southern Airlines Flight CZ380 saw the woman throwing coins at the engine standing in the middle of the boarding staircase. The crew was alerted who inspected the craft to find nine coins in the engine. Had the metal coins been sucked up by the engine, the result would have been a catastrophic engine failure. While eight of the coins missed the target, one had gotten stuck inside the engine.
China Southern Airlines wrote in a statement on Weibo, “A senior passenger threw coins to the plane’s engine and delayed the flight. The passenger involved has been taken away by police. In order to make sure the flight is safe, China Southern maintenance has conducted a full exam of the plane’s engine. ”
The 80-year-old woman was traveling with her husband, daughter, and son-in-law. The police issued a statement regarding the incident saying, “After an investigation, the involved passenger surnamed Qiu said she threw the coins to pray for safety. According to Qiu’s neighbor, Qiu believes in Buddhism.”
After a delay of over five hours, the flight eventually took off at 5:52 pm local time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s84b5jOZOzM
This is not the first time a Chinese passenger has attempted a stunt of this sort. We have previously heard of passengers trying to open emergency doors, and even going as far as assaulting the crew.