A Flybe flight heading for Glasgow with 44 passengers on board was just seconds from disaster as it plummeted 500ft in 18 seconds after an incorrect autopilot setting caused it to aim for the ground.

The passengers and four crew were on board when the terrifying incident occurred shortly after take off from Belfast City Airport.

A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) stated that autopilot was engaged when the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop plane reached an altitude of 1,350 feet.

The aircraft continued to climb to 1,500ft but it "pitched nose-down and then descended rapidly" because autopilot was mistakenly set with a target altitude of zero feet.

As the plane began to plummet cockpit alarms alerted the captain and first officer to what was happening. They later reported they had "become visual with the ground".

The 60-year-old captain, usually based in Aberdeen, disconnected autopilot and recovered the aircraft, having dropped to 928ft.

The maximum rate of descent of 4,300 feet per minute during the event suggests the aircraft may have hit the ground just a few seconds later if the crew had not intervened.

They continued the flight to Glasgow and landed without incident.

The AAIB concluded that the crew's selection of a particular autopilot mode before take off on January 11 this year led to the zero altitude target.

The flight's operator had taken several safety measures in response to the incident, including revisions to simulator training and amendments to pilots' pre-take off checklists.

A Flybe spokeswoman said: "

As reported by the AAIB, Flybe implemented remedial actions quickly in response to the incident and our training and procedures have been amended to minimise the risk of a reoccurrence.

"Flybe operates over 158,000 flights a year and the safety of our passengers and crew remains our number one priority."