Passengers get false crash alert

British Airways apologised to passengers after an emergency message warning they were about to crash into the sea was played by mistake.

About 275 passengers were on the London-to-Hong Kong flight on Wednesday when the automated message went out.

The plane was flying over the North Sea at the time. Cabin crew quickly realised the error and moved to reassure the terrified passengers.

"We all thought we were going to die," Michelle Lord, 32, of Preston, northern England, told the Sun newspaper.

Another passenger was reported saying: "I can't think of anything worse than being told your plane's about to crash."

A British Airways spokesman said an investigation was under way to discover whether the announcement was made because of a human error or a computer glitch.