A China Southern Airlines flight was delayed for five hours Tuesday after an elderly passenger threw a handful of coins into the plane’s engine.
The 80-year-old woman told police that it was for good luck, BBC News reported.
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The Shanghai Pudong International Airport incident led to an hours-long wait for 150 passengers, who were taken off the plane while crews worked to remove the coins and then inspect the engine.
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While it was inconvenient, the women’s actions were not grounds for a criminal charge, Shanghai police said in a statement on Chinese social networking site Weibo.
“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.”
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The nine coins, totalling less than one Canadian dollar, caused an expensive delay. The Washington Post reported that inspecting the plane was estimated to cost well over $100,000.
Earlier this week, an Air Asia pilot sparked controversy when he asked passengers to “pray” during a turbulent flight.
While the incident was blamed on a “technical issue,” the airline’s CEO, Tony Fernandes, said he was “beaming with pride” over the pilot’s handling of the situation, Perth Now reported.
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