AN RAF pilot has been cleared of lying to investigators after the military passenger jet he was flying from RAF Brize Norton went into a nosedive.

The plane began plummeting from the sky after pilot Flight Lieutenant Andrew Townshend' digital camera became stuck on the flight stick deactivating the autopilot.

Townshend had been accused of lying in both a technical log and service inquiry when he initially claimed the incident had been caused by a technical fault.

A board of RAF officers found the 49-year-old not guilty of two counts of perjury and one of making a false record at the court martial trial at Bulford, Wiltshire.

But Townshend had pleaded guilty to negligently performing a duty in relation to the Nikon D5300 DSLR camera colliding with the aircraft's control stick and he will be sentenced on Friday at the same court.

The court martial heard that the incident took place over the Black Sea during a flight from RAF Brize Norton to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan on February 9 2014.

The trial heard that many of the crew and passengers thought they were going to die when the Voyager aircraft plummeted 4,400ft in a matter of seconds.

The defendant, who has served with the RAF for 30 years and completed 5,500 flying hours, had been using his camera to take photographs of other aircraft from the cockpit and had taken 95 shots that day.

He also told the court that he had been viewing the star-filled sky moments before the incident as he had a passion for star-gazing.

Townshend said that after the flight, he filled in his flight log stating that he believed at the time there had been an issue with the autopilot but he now accepted that his camera must have deactivated the autopilot.

An MoD spokeswoman said: "Our thoughts go out to all those on board the Voyager who were affected by what was a highly distressing experience.

"The MoD is grateful for the court's thorough consideration of the facts in this matter, lessons have been identified from this incident and training and procedures amended accordingly."