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Maybe it’s because I’m so stingy, and therefore always travel on the cheapest airlines, but sometimes I wonder “has any commercial flight ever been on time? It feels like they’re always delayed by something.” I’m sure we’ve all had the annoying experience of being stuck in the departure lounge of an airport for hours at a time, while baggage handlers twiddle their thumbs and the pilot tries to get over their hangover. I often wonder what the hell has caused these delays. As much as I joke, I imagine that you must get some pretty serious issues out on that runway just before the scheduled takeoff. When you think about all the myriad number of things that can go grievously awry in aviation, it’s a wonder that any plane manages to get off the ground at all.

According to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the most common reasons that commercial flights are delayed or cancelled is due to late aircraft, dangerous weather conditions, congestion in air traffic, fuelling issues, and security issues. Since so many of the functions of modern aircrafts are reliant on computer automation, airline glitches are now the top cause of delays worldwide. Chicago Business reports that router failures and other IT issues cost Delta Airlines $100 million for a major incident which occurred this year. It’s incredibly rare that a passenger will cause the delay themselves, since airport security is now so rigorous in order to prevent potential hijackers. But this week one traveller managed to cause a major plane delay – and she did it through something as innocuous as flipping a coin.

Chinese officials have stated that a very superstitious passenger on a flight from Shanghai for several hours this Tuesday, when she threw some loose change inside the plane’s engine for good luck. The old woman was apprehended by police at Shanghai Pudong International Airport for causing what could have been a catastrophic engine failure. The weird incident forced around 150 irate passengers to be evacuated from the plane, and led them to wait in the airport while technicians attempted to salvage the coins. The 80-year-old woman allegedly pitched nine coins at jet turbine of China Southern Airlines flight CZ380, which was bound for the city of Guangzhou in the south of China. Eight of the coins missed the target but one was sucked inside the engine. A fellow passenger witnessed the ill-advised act of superstition, and reported it to authorities.

In a statement on its social media Weibo account, China Southern Airlines stated: “A senior passenger threw coins to the plane’s engine and delayed the flight. The passenger involved has been taken away by police. In order to make sure the flight is safe, China Southern maintenance has conducted a full exam of the plane’s engine.” Airport police later added: “After investigation the involved passenger surnamed Qiu said she threw the coins to pray for safety. According to Qiu’s neighbour, Qiu believes in Buddhism. The plane is boarding again for takeoff.” 2017 certainly has been a weird year for airlines. I’m sure we all remember the time when Vietnamese-American David Dao was forcefully dragged of a United Airlines plane.