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Paris Hilton is telling business associates ... she will sue the people responsible for putting her on a plane that appeared to be in crash mode ... just to get a rise out of her.

We're told Paris is furious over the stunt ... in which a TV crew got the pilot to pretend to shut down the engines in her plane, and then nose-dive to the ground. Paris says she was in mortal fear for her life ... something the video pretty clearly shows.

Our sources say she's "totally freaked out" over flying anywhere ... something she's required to constantly do. She's already called her lawyers to find out who's responsible, and they told her she has a solid case for emotional distress.

Paris tells them she had absolutely no clue this was a prank ... she wasn't in on it. She also doesn't believe anyone in her camp was involved.

An Egyptian TV show host engineered the prank as they flew over Dubai.