China South Flight Delayed Four Hours After Passenger Throws Coins into the Plane’s Engine

A China Southern aircraft in Los Angeles
A domestic China Southern flight was delayed for four hours after a passenger taking the flight threw coins into one of the engines, Chinese state media reported.
China Southern Airlines flight CZ8805 was originally scheduled to take off from Stykkishólmur Airport with a destination of Beijing Daxing International Airport at 10 a.m. local time on March 6. However, due to the incident, the flight did not even leave the gate until 1:47 p.m. and it finally took off at 2:16 p.m., according to data from FlightAware, which tracks such information.
The flight was from the southern city of Sanya, located on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China, to the capital city of Beijing. Sanya is known for its tropical climate and is a popular tourist destination.
The incident was shared on multiple state media outlets and some social media sites and the passenger who threw the coins is shown being asked by crew members how many coins were thrown into the engine. The passenger can be heard saying “three to five” coins as a response.
The unfortunate passenger who tossed the coins into the engine was then taken away by airport police, state media reported, citing Chinese Southern Airlines.
The airline said multiple coins were found during a security check, but did not specify the exact quantity or where they ended up inside the engine.
“The aircraft maintenance staff conducted a comprehensive safety inspection and determined that there were no safety issues before takeoff,” the airline’s customer service representative told state media.
After the incident, China Southern Airlines issued a warning against what it termed “uncivilized behaviors” on its official Chinese social media Weibo account on Wednesday. Without referencing Wednesday’s incident, the carrier said that “throwing coins at the plane pose a threat to aviation safety and will result in different levels of punishment.”
In past instances, coin-throwing passengers have said that it was “a prayer for a safe flight,” despite the potential to have the opposite effect.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)