An elderly Chinese woman attempted to seek good luck when she began throwing coins into a jet’s turbine engine before her flight. However, she soon learned that was a serious mistake.
Alarmed passengers who witnessed the woman tossing spare change from the middle of the boarding staircase alerted Shanghai Pudong International Airport Authorities who delayed the China Southern Airlines Flight 380, according to the South China Morning Post.
Ground staff said the woman appeared to be about 80 years old and had limited mobility. She was accompanied by her husband, daughter, and son-in-law.
The plane was forced to stay on the tarmac for five hours while the engines were inspected for coins.
Like geese, coins can also do serious damage if sucked into a plane’s engine. The maintenance crew was able to retrieve the nine coins from the engine. Had the change been sucked into the turbine, a catastrophic failure could have been the result, according to reports quoting the aircraft’s captain.
China Southern Airlines told reporters that the passengers were reminded to follow civil aviation laws and regulations, which forbid behaviors that could ultimately jeopardize and the safety of the flight and put the passengers’ lives in danger.
“After investigation, the involved passenger, surnamed Qiu, said she threw the coins to pray for safety. According to Qiu’s neighbor, Qiu believes in Buddhism,” the local police said in a statement.
After it was given a green light, the flight took off minutes shy of 6 p.m. — more than five hours late. It arrived in Guangzhou a little after 8 p.m. and the woman received her wish of a safe flight.
