Chinese airline to sue passenger, 28, who threw coins into plane engine for good luck and causing the flight to be cancelled
- Man threw two 1 yuan coins at the Lucky Air flight in east China ‘for good fortune’
- Domestic flight 8L9960 from Anqing to Kunming was grounded then cancelled
- A total of 162 passengers were affected and incident cost the airline £16,000
- Carrier said it will press charges against the man in accordance with the law
A Chinese airline is suing a passenger who threw coins at a plane engine for good luck before takeoff in east China.
The 28-year-old man, identified by his surname Lu, admitted to throwing two 1 yuan coins at a Lucky Air passenger jet after they were found by ground staff near the left engine of the plane on February 17.
Flight 8L9960 from Anqing, Anhui province to Kunming, Yunnan was grounded for security reasons and eventually cancelled, affecting 162 passengers and costing the airline nearly 140,000 yuan (£16,000), Lucky Air said on Friday.
The 28-year-old man, surnamed Lu, admitted to throwing two 1 yuan coins at a Lucky Air passenger jet after they were found by ground staff near the left engine of the plane on Feb 17
Flight 8L9960 from Anqing, Anhui province to Kunming, Yunnan was cancelled, affecting 162 passengers and costing the airline nearly 140,000 yuan (£16,000), Lucky Air said on Friday
-
Woman steals two Persian kittens worth £5,000 and smuggles…
Chinese kindergartens use robots to give pupils classes as…
You gotta be kidding! Farmer ‘holds a meeting’ with his…
Dozens of illegally hunted baby seals are found starving and…
Share this article
The superstitious man was travelling with his wife and one-year-old child and was hoping for a safe journey when he threw the coins while boarding on the tarmac at Anqing Tianzhushan Airport, Anqing police said in a statement.
The man was detained by authorities for seven days after the coins were found on the ground near the engine during the pre-flight check.
‘The incident caused a direct economic loss of nearly 140,000 yuan, and our company will press charges against the passenger in accordance with the law,’ Lucky Air said in its statement.
The engine of an aircraft would be severely damaged or even destroyed if a coin is sucked into it, according to a professor at Civil Aviation University of China cited by China Daily.
The man was detained by authorities for seven days after the coins were found on the ground near the engine during the preflight check
Luck Air urged passengers to comply with civil aviation laws and regulations and avoid behaviour that could prove detrimental to the safety of passengers (file photo)
‘The engine could tremble, lose speed and even stop in mid-air if a coin were sucked into its core,’ he said. ‘That would put all the passengers on board at great risk.’
The rest of the passengers were flown to Kunming city the next day following a full engine check.
This is not the first time a passenger has attempted to toss coins into an aircraft engine for good fortune and a safe flight.
In June 2017, an 80-year-old woman threw her change at a China Southern Airlines flight at Shanghai Pudong Airport to pray for a safe flight, causing a five-hour delay and one million yuan in damages. She was not charged due to her age.
Several months later in the same year, a 76-year-old woman flung several coins into the engine of a Lucky Air flight, also Kunming-bound from Anqing. She was detained but not charged.
Luck Air urged passengers to comply with civil aviation laws and regulations and avoid behaviour that could prove detrimental to the safety of passengers.
‘Not only does tossing coins not give you good luck, it will endanger aviation safety and land you in detention. You could be fined and prosecuted,’ the airline warned.
Source: Read Full Article