It states 'realistic potential for the loss of the aircraft and 198 people'

They were then brought back to the UK but many were afraid to fly

Plane forced to land in Turkey and passengers had to pay £10 for visas

33 people were injured and many more traumatised in 'near-miss'

Dozens of military personnel were injured when an RAF transport plane on its way to Afghanistan nose-dived 4,400ft after the captain's camera became lodged alongside the aircraft's joystick.

The Voyager jet was around five hours into its journey from Brize Norton to Camp Bastion when the Nikon camera, used by the captain to take photographs on board, got stuck between the arm rest and the side-stick controller when his seat moved forward.

In 27 seconds of chaos, the plane lost 4,400ft in altitude, throwing passengers and crew without seatbelts towards the ceiling, injuring 33 of those on board, while one traumatised passenger was hospitalised with stress, according to the report into the incident.

This reconstruction shows how an RAF captain's camera became wedged alongside a Voyager aircraft's joystick before it plunged 4,400ft in mid air, injurying dozens of military personnel on board

The Voyager jet, similar to the one pictured, had been six hours into its journey from Brize Norton to Camp Bastion when the Nikon camera, used to take photographs on board, got stuck in the flight controls

The new Voyager jet had been six hours into its journey from Brize Norton to Camp Bastion when the captain's Nikon camer, used to take photographs on board, got stuck in the flight controls

The aircraft, a militarised version of the Airbus A330-200 passenger jet, was diverted to an airbase in Turkey after the incident on February 9 last year, and the state-of-the-art fleet grounded for 11 days while the cause of the dive was investigated by the Military Aviation Authority.

The final report into the incident, released last week, has now revealed that RAF captain had been alone in the cockpit and was taking pictures of the flight deck from his seat with the digital SLR camera in the three minutes before the plane dramatically plummeted.

The camera had been between his arm rest and the side-stick unit which controls the aircraft's altitude, and became wedged in when his seat moved forward.

The report author describes the incident as a 'near-miss' and said there was a 'realistic potential for the loss of the aircraft and 198 of our people'.

There were nine crew members and 189 servicemen and women on board the flight , who had been served their meal and were enjoying the in-flight entertainment when when the plane suddenly lost altitude while cruising at 33,000ft over the Black Sea on its way to the main British base in Afghanistan.

The digital SLR camera, used by the captain in the three minutes before the plunge, had become wedged between his arm rest and the side-stick unit which control's the aircraft's altitude, when his seat moved forward, as this reconstruction shows

SOME OF THE MILITARY AVIATION AUTHORITY'S RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENHANCE SAFETY Review items carried by aircraft crews and maximise use of stowage areas

Review rules governing crew to minimise risks of having single pilot on the flight deck

Cabin crew should wear seatbelts during controlled rest periods

Examine ways to manage low in-flight pilot workload to minimise boredom

Implement measures to stop loose articles being placed near the plane's side stick

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At its fastest, it dropped at a rate of 15,800 feet per minute with the resulting g force enough to lift passengers out of their seats, as their belongings and other items such as pots of hot tea were hurled across the cabin.

'A large number of passengers and crew had been thrown towards the ceiling,' the report states.

'A significant volume of loose articles, including bags, personal effects, teapots, paper cups and bins were flying around the cabin while some passengers were shouting.'

According to the report, at the time of the plunge, the co-pilot had been out of the cockpit and was among those thrown towards the roof.

'Immediately prior to the pitch-down, the co-pilot felt a sensation similar to turbulence. The Purser also reported a similar sensation, describing it as a "jolt", it states.

'As the aircraft pitched down, the co-pilot was lifted to the cabin roof and, while experiencing weightlessness, re-entered the flight deck through the open door.

'He described a confusing scene with audio alarms sounding and a violent shaking of the aircraft.

'The captain shouted repeatedly that he could not disengage the autopilot. With his feet on the flight deck roof, the co-pilot reached down and attempted to disengage the autopilot by pulling back on his side-stick; an action which appeared to have no effect.'

The two pilots were quickly able to level the plane, and the captain decided to land the air craft as soon as possible so diverted the flight to the US Air Force's Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey.

Of those on board, 25 passengers and seven crew members were injured, and were cared for by medical personnel travelling as passengers, as well as by medics at Incirlik.

This dotted line shows the dent in the camera, caused when it became wedged next to the side-stick

The dent in the camera was found to be consistent with having been caused by the flange of the side-stick

The report states that one passenger had an 'acute stress rection' and was administered oxygen by a doctor before being taken to hospital upon landing. A cabin crew member was also hyperventilating but was cared for by a colleague.

Passengers without NATO travel orders then had to stump up £10 in cash for a visa allowing them to pass through immigration, with the servicemen and women having to club together to buy the visas as the British Embassy was unable to transfer the money.

Mental health experts were sent out to Incirlik to help ensure that the passengers felt able to get back on a plane so they could be taken back to the UK, and assess whether they were fit to be deployed to Afghanistan.

But by the time they were flown back to Britain, two days after the terrifying plunge, 'several passengers were exhibiting signs of distress, with some requiring counselling from the mental health nurses or medication from the Brize Norton medical staff.'

Ten passengers were told they were no longer required to deploy to Afghanistan, while a further 12 did not have to for medical or pastoral reasons.

Damage to the aircraft included 50 broken in-flight entertainment sockets, seven dented ceiling panels, five broken florescent light tubes and five damaged hand rails, but there was no reported damage to the flight deck, and no reported damage to the external structure of the aircraft.

The cost of the incident has not yet been calculated, although an early estimate put it in the region of £0.5million.

The report found that the pilot had taken 77 photographs during the flight and had used it as recently as three minutes and 20 seconds before the incident.

The plane had set off from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire (pictured) on the morning of February 9 last year

The flight had been bound for Camp Bastion in Afghanistan (pictured), which was the UK's major base in the country until late last year

It states that although using the camera during the flight was not prohibited, its use 'represented a lack of compliance with the policy regarding non-relevant duties'.

However, it also says that during the cruise stage of the flight the pilot's workload would have been low, and that taking photographs would have been a way for the captain to maintain his alertness.

It recommends that ways of minimising pilot boredom during less busy periods of the flight should be examined.

Changes to the design of the cabin to prevent a similar incident were not required, but the report recommends that strengthening rules regarding wearing seatbelts could mitigate 'future in-flight upsets'.

The report concludes: 'The loss of the aircraft was not an unrealistic possibility. While at its heart this incident was caused by the simple and unthinking act of placing a loose article close to the aircraft controls, there are broader lessons to learn here.

'Modern technology may be capable of reducing crew workload to historic lows and aircraft can now protect themselves as never before, but the requirement for crews to understand and interact with the aircraft and its systems when things deviate from the norm remains and challenging as ever.'

An RAF spokesman said: ‘The safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance to us.

'The incident was caused by a camera becoming lodged between the arm rest and side-stick causing the aircraft to lose height, the RAF is in the process of implementing the recommendations made by the Service Inquiry including instructions to ensure no objects are placed between pilots’ arm rests and the side stick’.

A spokesman for AirTanker, which is responsible for the supply of Voyager to the RAF and the service which underpins it, told MailOnline: 'As an operational issue for the RAF, it would be inappropriate for AirTanker to comment.

'However, we note the findings of the Service Inquiry Report, which confirm that no technical fault was found with the aircraft.'

The RAF started using the Voyager's last year after agreeing to bring in 14 of the planes for military use under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract that is costing more than £10bn.

They were intended to replace the RAF's VC-10 and Tristar planes both as a transport plane, and as an air-to-air refuelling tanker.