A holiday jet returning to Gatwick disappeared from the airwaves for 20 frantic minutes after the pilot fiddled with his radio.
Two French jets were launched to track the missing Boeing 757, carrying 233 holidaymakers home from Majorca, when it vanished over France.
An investigation revealed air traffic controllers lost contact with the Thomas Cook charter flight when the pilot detuned his radio from French to English frequencies.
The air force jets were scrambled and made visual contact with the pilot before he reached the crowded skies over the South-East.
After confirming the flight was under control and not in any difficulty, they returned to France. The plane continued its path to Gatwick, where it landed at 1.20pm on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: "Radio contact was lost for a short time.
"The aircraft was still visible to controllers on their monitors and the captain had back-up radio communication systems on board should he have required them. The safety of passengers and aircraft was never compromised."
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