The garden is vast
An aviation blogger broke the news that on October 10, China Southern Airlines flight CZ29 from Guangzhou to Beijing was delayed for more than 3121 hours due to suspected people throwing coins into the engine. On the afternoon of the 3th, the reporter learned from the Guangzhou Baiyun Airport police that they did receive the relevant report that day and are currently investigating. (October 29, Chengdu Business Daily)
In the subsequent news released by @中国南Airlines' official Weibo, the incident was also confirmed, and said that the passengers involved had been taken away by the airport public security to cooperate with the investigation. Many netizens must think it is incredible, why do some people have such crazy and stupid behavior during the flight? However, it is surprising that this kind of behavior is not the first time that passengers have thrown coins into aircraft engines or other places, but many times.
According to public media reports, in 2019 alone, there were at least three incidents of passengers throwing coins at aircraft engines in China, including a female student who had just graduated from college and was preparing to enter graduate school. And the reason or purpose for them to do this strange behavior is also very "unified": to "pray for disaster avoidance". Specifically, some travelers feel that flying is not so safe, so they follow their own local custom and toss coins to bless themselves with a safe journey.
As everyone knows, this kind of act of praying for peace is putting oneself and the lives of all passengers and crew members in great danger. Coins are small, hard metal bodies that are highly resistant to abrasion. When the aircraft engine starts, the strong suction force will suck the coin into the engine, and the high-speed movement of the coin will collide with the high-speed rotating engine parts, resulting in a series of penetrating injuries, which seriously threatens the safety of the entire aircraft.
From a legal point of view, the legal consequences of such an act are also very serious. Throwing coins on the plane to "pray for blessings" is an illegal act that disrupts the production order of enterprises, and according to the provisions of the "Public Security Administration Punishment Law", such behavior will be punished with a warning or a fine of up to 200 yuan, and if the circumstances are more serious, it will be detained for not less than five days but not more than ten days. Because the illegal act committed by the perpetrator has caused actual losses to the airline, the airline has the right to demand compensation from the perpetrator.
A more serious consequence is the possibility of criminal liability for such acts. According to articles 116 and 119 of the Criminal Code, the destruction of trains, automobiles, trams, boats and aircraft is sufficient to cause the danger of overturning or destroying these means of transport, and if no serious consequences have been caused, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and if serious consequences are caused, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment or even death.
Therefore, this so-called "blessing" behavior, which is full of feudal superstition, not only will not seek any "blessing" and "blessing" from the gods for himself, but is also very likely to "invite disaster", and will be fined and detained, delay other passengers, and delay his own itinerary, or be punished by the law for violating the law, and may also face huge claims from airlines. For every passenger, more rationality and science, less superstition and blind obedience, in order to stay away from such strange and dangerous behaviors as throwing coins on the plane.