An elderly woman from China jeopardised the safety of an entire flight after she threw coins at the plane’s engine for good luck.
In a statement on their Weibo page, China Southern Airlines said: “A senior passenger threw coins to the plane’s engine and delayed the flight. The passenger involved has been taken away by police”.
The woman’s fellow passengers alerted the airline staff after they saw the woman in the act. The staff then conducted a thorough sweep of the engine and recovered nine coins in all, out of which one had entered the engine of the aircraft.
The China Southern Airlines flight, scheduled to fly from Shanghai to Guangzhou, was delayed for five hours after the woman threw the coins into the engine. She was detained by the police at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport after the incident.
The crew expressed concern over the potential damage a single coin could make if sucked into the mechanism, Independent reported.
"The passenger, surnamed Qiu, who has no prior criminal record or mental health issues, claimed she tossed coins as a prayer for a safe flight," Shanghai Police said in a statement.
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