Allegedly Tossed Coins Into The Engine Of The Airliner He Was Boarding

Chinese carrier Lucky Air is suing a passenger who threw two 1 yuan coins into the engine of the airliner he was boarding ... ironically for good luck.

His action caused the flight to be cancelled, and the airline says that cost them the equivalent of $21,000 and affected 162 passengers.

The U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail reports that the 28-year-old man, who was identified only by his surname Lu, admitted to tossing the coins into the left engine of the airplane on February 17. It caused the flight to be grounded for security reasons and was eventually cancelled.

Lu was reportedly traveling with his wife and one-year-old child. He was boarding from the tarmac and tossed the coins into the engine as he walked to the airplane. He was detained by authorities for seven days after they were found on the ground during a pre-flight check, according to the report.

The other passengers were flown to their destination the following day after the airplane was carefully inspected.

The practice is apparently rare but not unheard of. Twice in 2017, elderly women were detained but not charged after tossing coins into airplane engines.

Lucky Air released a statement urging passengers to avoid such behavior. "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 said.

(Image from file. Not incident airplane)

FMI: Source report