For the seventh time in the last couple of years, a Chinese person
has been arrested for trying to drop a handful of metal coins into an
airplane engine, for good luck.
On Monday morning a 66-year-old woman surnamed Wang was detained for
attempting to throw six metal coins into the engine of a Tianjin
Airlines plane just before take-off, in an effort to guarantee a safe
trip. Fortunately, the coins ended up on the ground instead of into the
multi-million dollar engine, and were noticed by an airport worker
before the plane’s departure. When an announcement was made, asking
whoever threw the coins to come forward, Wang refused to take
responsibility, but she soon identified using surveillance footage.
The superstitious woman was detained on the airport of Inner
Mongolian capital Hohhot, and placed under administrative detention for
10 days. The other passengers had to be moved to another plane and their
flight to the city of Chifeng was delayed by two hours.
The incident comes just a month after a 31-year-old man was detained
for trying to drop coins into the engine of a Hainan Airlines plane, to
ensure a safe flight for him and his family. He was spotted dropping
three small coins through the narrow gap between the jet bridge and the
plane. Luckily, he missed his mark, but his attempt still landed him in
jail for 10 days. In January, Chinese media reported that two women in
their 20’s were arrested Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport
in Shandong province, for the exact same thing.
Shangha.ist
reports that at least seven cases of people trying to throw metal coins
into airplane engines for good luck have already been recorded this
year. Such attempts have been making international headlines since 2017,
and either they are becoming increasingly popular or the media is
reporting cases more diligently than they used to.
In the beginning, airlines showed lenience towards passengers foolish
enough to throw coins into airplane engines, but as such incidents
became more frequent, some have adopted a harder stance. For instance,
in February of this year, Chinese airline Lucky Air sued a passenger for
$20,000 for delaying their plane for several hours by trying to drop
coins into its engine.
Luckily, all attempts to throw coins into airplane engines failed,
with the metal pieces landing on the ground, but if one such
superstitious person ever managed to reach their target, the
consequences could be devastating. Ouyang Jie, a professor at Civil
Aviation University of China, told Asia One that if a coin reached the delicate engine core, it could cause it to stop working midair.
Modern airplane engines are designed to handle multiple types of
foreign objects, from the debris found on airport strips, to birds or
hail, but small pieces of refined metal are not on the list. In a best
case scenario, they could cause damage to the engine’s fan blades, and
if they actually make it into the engine, they could cause catastrophic
damage. It’s for this reason that companies always delay their flights
and make sure that all thrown coins are accounted for.
