A popular Chinese tradition of throwing coins for good luck hasn't proved to be very lucky for one man. A Chinese passenger will face criminal charges for throwing coins into an airplane's engine, leading to cancellation of the flight and a loss of $20,000 to the airline. South China Morning Post reports that the incident occurred on February 17 at the Anqing Tianzhushan Airport in China. The airline, ironically, is named Lucky Air.
The incident came to light after security workers discovered two coins on the ground near the left-side engine of Lucky Air flight 8L9960 to Kunming. On questioning, a 28-year-old man, surnamed Lu, admitted to having thrown coins into the plane's engine for good luck, believing it would keep the flight safe.
The flight had to be cancelled out of safety concerns, inconveniencing 162 passengers who had to be accommodated onto other flights. Shanghaiist reports that Lucky Air claims to have suffered a loss of 1.4 lakh yuan and will pursue legal action against Mr Lu.
If a coin is sucked into an aircraft engine, it may severely damage the rapidly-spinning turbine and cause engine failure, leading to serious safety hazards if the plane is in flight, engineers said in a report about the incident, according to South China Morning Post.
This is definitely not the first time that something like this has happened in China.
In 2017, an 80-year-old passenger delayed a flight from Shanghai for several hours after throwing nine coins into the plane's engine. In the same year, a few months later, a 76-year-old woman led to the grounding of a Lucky Air flight after throwing coins into the engine.
Wealthy China Couples Are Employing "Professionals" To Fulfill Their Parental Duties BMW To Recall 1.4 Million Cars In China Over Faulty Airbags China's Driverless 'Robotaxis': Sci-fi Marvels Or Safety Concerns? Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Siddaramaiah's Swipe At Governor Amid Calls For Resignation: 10 Points Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops Watch: Russian Woman Travels In Mumbai Local Train, Chats With Passengers Germany To Cut Down Military Aid For Ukraine In 2025: Report Hundreds Evacuated Amid Raging Forest Fire In Turkey: Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.