Coffee 'hijacks' flight

A US jet was forced to make an emergency landing after a pilot spilled a cup of coffee.

The aeroplane was on its way from Chicago in the US to Frankfurt in Germany, but diverted to Toronto after the pilot dropped his hot drink on some of the plane's equipment, causing it to send out a '7500 Code' - which denotes a hijacking.

Although Transport Canada - transport regulator in the airspace where the plane was - were alerted that the signal was an error by crew, but the decision to divert the Boeing 777 was made anyway.

The 241 passengers and 14 air staff were then put on a different plane, sent back to Chicago and stayed overnight before re-starting their journey to Frankfurt.

A spokesperson for United Airlines, who operated the flight, said: "Our review of the communications issue encountered on flight 940 continues, so it's too soon to comment on any particulars that led to the captain's decision to divert.

"But it is important to note the crew did maintain contact with controllers, and the decision to divert to Toronto was the captain's."