A pilot on a Scots flight accidentally raised an alarm to say the plane was being hijacked.

The alert was raised on a Lufthansa flight from Aberdeen to Frankfurt in Germany carrying 43 passengers on Monday.

The pilot's radio stopped working, forcing him to send a coded message explaining there was a communication malfunction.

But instead, he accidentally sent a code stating the plane was being hijacked, placing the army and police on high alert. Tornado fighter jets were also prepared to intercept the plane.

The pilot noticed his mistake and informed air traffic controllers there was no hijacker on board.

Speaking to STV News, Lufthansa spokesman Joerg Waber said: "Normally the pilot would enter a code to the tower to say his radio wasn't working but everything was fine.

"Instead, he accidentally entered the code suggesting the plane was being hijacked.

"All forces were informed at the time but the pilot and passengers didn't know anything about the error.

"He later realised his mistake and informed the tower and all forces were stood down.

"The plane was 15 minutes late in landing. It was a very unusual incident."