China Chao, 28, was ordered by the court to pay $ 17,200 to Lucky Air after throwing coins into the plane for good luck.

The Nghi Tu District Court, An Khánh Town, Anhui Province, issued a verdict with Lu Chao from July 2019, but recently published the incident. Lu, who first flew, admitted to throwing coins into Lucky Air's plane on February 17 last year, hoping to have a lucky flight.

Lucky Air's flight from Anqing to Kunming, Yunnan Province, was canceled after aviation personnel discovered two bad coins on the ground near an aircraft engine. All passengers must leave the plane and aircraft temporarily suspended to check.

Lucky Air, based in Kunming, also had to arrange accommodations and alternative flights for stranded passengers, resulting in losses of more than 123,000 yuan (US $ 17,600). Meanwhile, Lu was detained by police for 10 days on charges of causing public disorder.

In May, Lucky Air filed a lawsuit against Lu, claiming damages. Lu, who is represented by his brother in court, said the airline's maintenance costs are too high and Lucky Air should make extensive announcements before boarding passengers to remind them not to throw coins.

Lu said he could not afford the money. The court said Lu had to pay Lucky Air full compensation of 120,000 yuan ($ 17,200) but cut the court fee in half to 459 yuan ($ 66).

Similar incidents have occurred recently in China and this is the second "lucky coin" case to be brought to trial. A man threw a coin into an engine when boarding a flight from Wuhan to Son Duong in 2017 and was sued by Shenzhen Airlines. The company asked for 70,000 yuan ($ 10,000), but the man eventually agreed to pay 50,000 yuan.

Similar incidents caused Phoenix Phoenix International Airport, Hainan Province, in June, to issue a warning warning passengers not to throw coins into the plane. In September, a medical school girl was fined 200 yuan (nearly $ 30) after throwing a coin in an airplane parking area in Sichuan to pray for her grandchildren because the child got sick while flying.