China Southern Airlines flight was delayed for more than 4 hours after a passenger threw coins into the plane's engine

The China Southern Airlines plane was delayed for hours as a passenger threw coins into its engine, believed to be prayers for safe flight. Shutterstock

A passenger who threw coins into the engine of a China plane caused more than four hours of flight delay on Wednesday according to a Chinese state media outlet.

The report said that the China Southern Airlines flight CZ8805 was originally scheduled to take off from the southern city of Sanya to Beijing around 10 a.m. local time on March 6, but it did not depart until around 2:16 p.m. local time.

In a video circulating via multiple state media outlets, a flight attendant is seen questioning a passenger believed to have thrown the coins, asking them how many coins were thrown into the engine. The passenger, whose identity was not revealed in the video or by state media, can be heard on camera saying “three to five” coins.

The passenger who allegedly threw the coins was later taken away by airport police, state media reported, citing Chinese Southern Airlines.

The airline said coins were found during security checks, but did not specify how many were located.

“The aircraft maintenance staff conducted a comprehensive safety inspection and determined that there were no safety issues before takeoff,” the airline’s customer service told state media.

China Southern Airlines issued a warning against “uncivilized behaviours” on their official Chinese social media Weibo account on Wednesday, saying “Throwing coins at the plane poses a threat to aviation safety and will result in different levels of punishment.” However, the post did not reference the incident directly.

Similar incidents of people throwing coins at planes, apparently for “good luck,” have occurred in recent years in China.

Last October, a China Southern Airlines flight was delayed in Guangzhou after a passenger was observed throwing coins towards the plane. In 2021, a GX Airlines flight between Weifang and Haikou was cancelled when several coins wrapped in red paper were discovered on the ground. And in 2017, an elderly passenger threw coins at a China Southern Airlines plane during boarding at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport, claiming it was “a prayer for a safe flight.”

乘客向飛機引擎投擲硬幣 南航航班延誤4個多小時

根據中國官方媒體報道，週三，一名乘客向一架中國飛機的發動機投擲硬幣，導致航班延誤四個多小時。

中國南方航空 CZ8805 航班原定於當地時間 3 月 6 日上午 10 點左右從南部城市三亞起飛飛往北京，但直到下午 2 點 16 分左右才起飛。 當地時間。

在多個官方媒體流傳的一段影片中，可以看到一名空服員詢問一名據信投擲硬幣的乘客，詢問他們向引擎投擲了多少硬幣。 影片中或官方媒體均未透露這名乘客的身份，影片中可以聽到他說「三到五」枚硬幣。

據官方媒體引述中國南方航空公司的消息稱，據稱扔硬幣的乘客後來被機場警察帶走。

該航空公司表示，在安全檢查時發現了硬幣，但沒有具體說明找到了多少枚。

該航空公司的客戶服務人員告訴官方媒體： “飛機維修人員在起飛前進行了全面的安全檢查，確定不存在安全問題。”

中國南方航空週三在其中國官方社交媒體微博帳戶上對“不文明行為”發出警告，稱“向飛機投擲硬幣對航空安全構成威脅，將受到不同程度的處罰。” 不過，該貼文並未直接提及該事件。

近年來，中國也發生過類似的人們向飛機投擲硬幣的事件，顯然是為了「好運」。

去年十月，中國南方航空的一架航班在廣州延誤，原因是一名乘客被發現向飛機投擲硬幣。 2021 年， GX 航空從濰坊飛往海口的航班因在地面上發現幾枚紅紙包裹的硬幣而被取消。 2017年，一名老年乘客在上海浦東國際機場登機時向南航飛機投擲硬幣，聲稱這是「祈求飛行安全」。