AN RAF pilot has been dismissed for negligence after he cost the MoD millions of pounds by causing a military passenger jet to go into a nosedive when his digital camera deactivated the autopilot.

Flight Lieutenant Andrew Townshend pleaded guilty to negligently performing a duty in relation to the Nikon D5300 DSLR camera, which was pushed as he moved his seat into the aircraft's control stick.

Townshend put his head in his hands as he was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 12 months, as well as being dismissed from the RAF.

Judge Advocate Alan Large said the board had ruled Townshend had deliberately deleted the photos from his camera because he feared they would make him look unprofessional, although he said there was no ban on using a camera in the cockpit.

He said: "This was not a momentary lapse of concentration, your eye was well off the ball."

Nigel Lickley QC, prosecuting, said the incident led to the grounding of the military fleet of six Voyager aircraft for 13 days while the cause of the nosedive was investigated.

This lead to service personnel being stranded in Afghanistan while they waited for the aircraft to be brought back into service, he added.

The court also heard that many of the 198 crew and passengers thought they were going to die when the Voyager aircraft plummeted 4,400ft in a matter of seconds, causing some to be thrown into the ceiling.

Townshend, who had completed 5,500 flying hours, had said he had been "bored" and had been stargazing and taking photos with his camera.