Plane diverts after hijack error

A US-bound passenger plane has been diverted to Canada after wrongly transmitting a hijack warning.
The Virgin Atlantic airliner, carrying 273 passengers, was heading from London to New York when US aviation officials asked it to divert to Halifax, Canada.

Virgin confirmed it had spoken directly to the crew and they were safe.

It said the plane's transponder, which sends information to radar stations and air traffic control, had inadvertently sent code used to warn of a hijack.