Even though she was traveling with an airline called “Lucky Air,” one 76-year-old woman apparently still wanted to err on the side of caution.
As she was boarding her plane at an airport in Anqing, Anhui province on Wednesday, fellow passengers spotted the granny, surnamed Fang, throwing something at one of the aircraft’s engines. Upon further investigation, a coin was found on the ground nearby, according to a statement published on the Kunming-based budget airline’s Weibo account.
Afterward, workers were called in and the plane was given a thorough safety check. It did not take off for Kunming until 10 am the following day. However, Fang was not on board, having been detained by police.
As philosopher George Santayana famously wrote, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Back in June, an 80-year-old woman was also spotted at Shanghai’s Pudong airport chucking coins into a plane’s engine prior to take-off in order to “pray for a safe flight,” resulting in a five-hour delay and her detainment.

Though, considering the plane’s destination, perhaps Fang was just praying that there were no cockroaches on her flight.