Flight delayed 2 hours after 'coin throwing' scare

A China Eastern Airlines flight was delayed on Tuesday after a passenger was suspected of throwing coins toward the plane’s engine.

Flight MU5540 from Anqing in eastern Anhui Province to Shanghai was delayed for nearly two hours for an inspection.

Two coins were found, one near the edge of an engine and the other on the nearby ground, when passengers were boarding the aircraft.

Police later checked the surveillance camera and excluded any coin throwing, the Shanghai-based carrier said.

A passenger surnamed Xu said an announcement was broadcast in the cabin asking “if there is any passenger who threw coins toward the engine please contact us.” A police officer later boarded and promised anyone who spoke up would be exempt from punishment, but no one answered, he said.

In a similar case, a China Southern Airlines flight to Guangzhou was delayed for more than five hours at the Pudong airport in 2017 after an 80-year-old passenger threw a handful of coins toward the engine to “wish a safe flight.”

Though the senior passenger was exempted from punishment, such behavior could lead to criminal charges.