Eight Coins in the Engine

Eight coins, no more, no less, tossed into the engine for good luck.

The frantic flashing of the dashboard alarms sent a cold sweat down my uniform.

Oh, come on, it's a holiday! Doesn't that turbine look just like a wishing well? I just threw in a few coins for good fortune.

The new flight attendant, a Gen Z, chewed gum nonchalantly while touching up her makeup.

"I only tossed in eight, for 'prosperity,' to bless our flight with a safe journey."

"This is a jet engine! Foreign object ingestion can lead to an in-flight breakup, destroying the plane and killing everyone on board! You're trying to murder everyone on this aircraft!"

"You're being so dramatic! I was doing it for everyone's good. What's a few coins going to do?"

She rolled her eyes, grabbed a bag of crisps from the cart, and tossed it at the cockpit door.

"Here, have some crisps. Calm down, alright?"

"Making such a fuss over nothing. Youre so provincial. Just take off already, you pathetic man!"

I slammed my hand on the cabin door switch, locking the air bridge.

"Are you insane? I'm going to expose you!"

"You won't have to. Air Traffic Control has already called the authorities. Endangering public safety. You'll be having your holiday dinner at the station this year!"

...

Urgent footsteps echoed down the air bridge.

Maksim, the Operations Manager, was the first to burst in, his face ashen.

"Who told you to lock the door? Open it right now!"

He pointed at the cockpit door, yelling at me.

"Captain, are you trying to get fired? Have you calculated how much the company gets fined for every minute of delay?"

"Mr. Maksim, a foreign object has been ingested into the engine. We cannot take off."

Lenore immediately squeezed past him, clinging to Maksim's side, tears instantly welling up.

"Mr. Maksim, you have to stand up for me!"

She pointed at me, her voice choked with sobs. "I just threw in a few coins for good luck, and he called me a murderer and threatened to have me arrested."

"He even yelled at me in front of everyone. I was so scared."

"So many VIP clients are waiting on board. Whose fault will it be if we're delayed?"

Maksim immediately shielded Lenore behind him, glaring at me.

"You're a grown man, why are you arguing with a young lady? It's just a few coins!"

He pointed his finger at my nose. "Do you even know what an engine is made of? Titanium alloy! The hardest metal in the world! What could a few coins possibly do to it?"

"I've been in management for years, and I've never seen such an irresponsible pilot!"

"You're scaremongering! This is professional negligence!"

I pulled out my phone, intending to show him the engine photos I'd just taken.

"It's regulation. Any foreign object ingestion requires a grounded inspection."

Maksim swatted my phone away and pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Tower, cancel the alert. It was an internal crew misunderstanding."

He barked into the walkie-talkie, then turned to me, his voice chilling.

"For the company's on-time performance assessment at the end of the year, this plane will fly today."

"Whatever happens, I, Maksim, will take responsibility!"

I ignored him, firmly blocking the cockpit door.

"I am the Captain. I make the final call on this aircraft."

I pulled out my flight manual from my pocket and flipped to the section on foreign object damage.

"The manual states that suspected foreign object damage must be confirmed by maintenance. Not taking off is just a delay. Taking off is a catastrophe."

"I have the final authority."

Maksim scoffed, laughing angrily, and tore the four stripes from my shoulder.

"Captain? Do you really think you're someone important?"

He slammed the epaulets onto the ground, pointing at Lenore behind me.

"This young lady had good intentions, wishing good fortune for everyone on board. Don't you understand social graces? No wonder you're single!"

I looked at the epaulets on the ground, saying nothing.

Maksim's mood shifted faster than flipping a page. He turned to Lenore, his voice softening.

"Don't worry, Lenore. The manager is here."

"These kinds of pilots are just uncultured. Don't pay him any mind."

He put an arm around Lenore's shoulder, as if comforting a child who had suffered a great injustice.

"Come on, I'll take you to first class to relax and have some champagne to calm your nerves."

Lenore, teary-eyed, nodded. As she passed me, she cast a triumphant glance.

Before leaving, Maksim picked up the interphone in the air bridge.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the inconvenience, but due to the Captain's sudden personal health issue, this flight will be delayed for some time."

"His emotional state is currently unstable, and for everyone's safety, we need a moment to address the situation."

His voice echoed throughout the air bridge and the cabin.

I listened to the broadcast, to the murmurs and discussions beginning in the cabin, and clenched my fists.

The next day, the company's official notice came down.

"Captain Luke Miller is suspended from all flying duties pending further review due to a lack of big-picture thinking, insubordination, and causing a significant flight delay."

The memo was circulated to all departments, effectively a public execution.

I returned to the flight preparation room to pack my personal belongings.

Lenore was sitting in my usual seat, scrolling through her phone and slurping spicy noodles.

The pungent smell filled the entire room.

My flight bag was under her feet, and my flight log, placed beneath her noodle bowl, was soaked with a large red oil stain.

Seeing me enter, she didn't even lift an eyelid, spitting a gnawed chicken bone onto my desk.

I walked over, wanting to retrieve my flight log.

Annoyed by my presence, Lenore pulled out my flight checklist.

It was a checklist I'd used for ten years, every page filled with notes and insights.

Without even looking, she muttered disdainfully, "What a piece of junk."

Then she grabbed it, wiped the oil from the corners of her mouth, crumpled it into a ball, and casually tossed it into the nearby trash can.

"What are you looking at?"

Lenore swung her phone, raising an eyebrow triumphantly.

"Mr. Maksim said this VIP prep room is now exclusively mine."

"You pathetic man, you don't deserve to be in here anymore."

She shoved her phone screen in my face, the bright social media interface glaring.

The title read: "Beware! Arrogant Pilot Maliciously Delays Flight and Tries to Arrest Me Out of Jealousy for My Youthful Beauty!"

The photo was a side profile of me, accompanied by her tearful selfie.

The comments section had exploded.

"This guy is so pathetic. Why wouldn't he let the beautiful young lady pray for good fortune?"

"A road-raging pilot is terrifying. He should be banned for life!"

"He looks like a creep. Maybe he tried to hit on her, failed, and got mad?"

"Dug it up! His parents are just regular factory workers. No wonder his personality is so dark."

Someone had already doxxed my home address and phone number.

"Everyone, let's go flood his accounts! Let him know we young ladies aren't to be trifled with!"

I felt a wave of suffocation.

Maksim happened to pass by the door. Seeing the scene, he didn't stop it. Instead, he patted Lenore's shoulder.

"Well done. You understand how to use new media to maintain our company's positive image."

"This is the new generation our company needs, much better than some of the old guard."

He turned to me, his face grim, and ordered.

"Luke, what are you standing there for? Apologize to Lenore right now!"

"How much negative impact have you caused your colleague and the company with your impulsiveness? Can you bear that responsibility?"

I didn't look at him, nor at Lenore.

I silently bent down and picked up the oil-stained flight checklist from the trash can.

I carefully unfolded it, smoothing out the creases.

Then, I turned and left the preparation room.

My eyes, however, had turned to ice.

I didn't go home; I went straight to the hangar.

"Miller, these are the coins found on the tarmac C eight of them. And here's the preliminary damage report. Take it."

I took the evidence bag and the report.

"I also copied the tarmac surveillance footage for you, just in case," Old Robert whispered.

I took photos and, along with pictures of the torn checklist, saved them all into an encrypted folder.

"Thanks, mate."

"No worries. We all believe you. That woman and Maksim have been lording it over everyone for ages. We've been fed up with them."

Three days later, the non-destructive testing report from the engine's original manufacturer arrived.

The email from the German engineer included detailed endoscope photos and data analysis.

The conclusion: eight coins were ingested the moment the engine started, leading to severe curling and fracturing of 18 fan turbine blades, and multiple internal damages to the core engine.

Repair solution: replace the entire engine.

Estimated cost: 30 million Euros.

The report was immediately escalated to the Civil Aviation Authority.

The CAA swiftly formed an investigation team, classifying the incident as a "serious flight safety hazard." The company was immediately ordered to suspend some routes for rectification.

The entire company was in an uproar.

When Maksim's call came, I was at home organizing evidence.

"Luke Miller, get your backside to the company right now!"

His voice roared through the phone.

I walked into Maksim's office. Lenore was there too, sobbing on the sofa.

Maksim slammed a German report onto my face.

"You're so capable, aren't you? You're the Captain, aren't you? The plane is your responsibility, so why didn't you stop her from throwing coins?"

"Now you've caused such a huge mess. Are you deliberately trying to ruin the company?"

The edge of the paper cut my face, burning hot.

Lenore cried even harder, pointing at me through her tears.

"I'm just a child! I didn't know anything! How was I supposed to know that thing was so precious?"

"It's all because the engine wasn't made strong enough! How could it break with just a few coins thrown in?"

"You're the Captain! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Were you deliberately trying to make me look bad, trying to ruin me?"

Maksim pulled out a printed document from his drawer and slapped it on the table.

"This is the 'Accident Liability Report.' Sign it now."

I picked it up.

It stated in black and white that the cause of the accident was my "negligence in pre-flight inspection, failing to detect foreign objects on the runway," subtly changing the nature of "deliberate coin throwing" to "accidental ingestion."

They even had a backup plan, ready for me to admit it was a "bird strike."

"You take responsibility for this, and the matter will be closed."

Maksim stared at me, his eyes dark.

"If you don't sign, the company will notify the entire industry and revoke your pilot's license. You'll never touch a cockpit again in your life."

"I know all the recruitment managers at every airline. I guarantee you won't even find a ground staff job!"

"The company's reputation has been damaged because of you, and we'll demand 30 million in compensation from you!"

I looked at these two legal ignoramuses performing their charade in front of me and suddenly smiled.

I put down the report and asked calmly,

"Are you sure you want to fabricate an aviation accident investigation report to cover up a mistake?"