A lucky coin could affect flight safety

A FLIGHT FROM SHANGHAI TO GUANGZHOU was delayed for five hours on Tuesday because an 80-year-old passenger threw a handful of coins at one of the engines for "good luck" as she was ascending the steps to board the plane, afterwards one coin was found in the engine. Beijing News commented on Wednesday:

In hindsight the elderly woman's attempt to "bestow luck upon the passengers" could have done anything but that, had it not been for another passenger who noticed what she had done and reported it to the cabin crew.

It is only natural that the woman was detained and questioned by the police. Had the other passenger not noticed the old woman's action and reported it, what could have happened to the Shanghai-Guangzhou flight doesn't bear thinking about.