HOHHOT, Inner Mongolia: An elderly Chinese woman grounded her flight after she tossed coins into the jet's engine to "wish for a safe flight".

The 66-year-old was taken into custody after the safety scare at Hohhot Baita International Airport in Inner Mongolia on Tuesday (Apr 16), Tianjin Airlines said in a statement on their social media platform Weibo.



The woman, only known as Yang, admitted to police that she threw six coins into the jet engine while praying for a safe flight.



She was removed from the aircraft by airport security and could face further punishment from the airline, the company said.

Fellow passengers reported that coins were thrown into the engine while she was boarding the flight. Ground crew later found coins lying on the tarmac next to the plane, according to statements by the airline, airport authorities, and transport police.

The flight was delayed for two hours and eventually took off for Chifeng city on a replacement aircraft.





In 2017, another superstitious passenger delayed a China Southern Airlines flight for nearly six hours after also throwing coins into an aircraft engine "for luck".



The 80-year-old woman was detained but eventually spared prosecution because of her age, state media reported.

