02 Jul A Flight Was Delayed by 5 Hours after Elderly Woman Threw Coins in the Engine for ‘Good Luck’

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.

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