A jumbo jet flying to the UK from Pakistan was tracked within 40 miles of Manchester by two RAF fighters during a security alert, the BBC has learned.
It was sparked after UK air traffic controllers said they could not contact the Pakistan International Airways (PIA) flight from Lahore last Friday.
The RAF jets were scrambled as the 747 with 81 passengers on board flew towards Manchester.
The pilot eventually made contact and the plane landed safely.
Lost contact
An investigation by BBC GMR has discovered that air traffic controllers in Maastricht lost contact with flight PK709 as it headed from Northern Europe to the UK.
It should have made contact with UK air traffic control as it crossed the North Sea but National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said no communication was made.
The RAF planes flew alongside it from the Lincolnshire coast to an area 40 miles from Manchester.
The pilot then contacted air traffic control and landed the plane 20 minutes later.
The airline said the pilot and crew were unaware that fighter jets had been scrambled and that anything unusual was happening.
It claimed it had been unable to contact air traffic controllers in Manchester but had spoken to operators in London.
NATS has disputed this, saying it would not have launched a security alert if the plane had made contact.
NATS has filed a report on the incident with the Civil Aviation Authority, and PIA has mounted its own inquiry.
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