(Image: PA)
A Royal Air Force plane declared an emergency alert after taking off from a Scottish air base this morning due to a "technical issue".
The Poseidon aircraft, a P-8 patrol plane used for anti-submarine activity, issued the 'Squawk 7700' alert after taking off from RAF Lossiemouth.
Read More: Work begins on Coulport building for Dreadnought submarines
The aircraft circled the area around the Moray military base before returning to land after crews discovered a "minor technical issue."
7700 is a squawk code reserved for emergencies and immediately alerts Air Traffic Control (ATC) and other units that the aircraft squawking 7700 is in distress. Air Traffic Control may assign it, or pilots may choose to enter it into their transponder themselves.
Read More:
An RAF spokesperson said: “An RAF Poseidon aircraft departed RAF Lossiemouth this morning.
“Shortly after taking off, the crew identified a minor technical issue and, as a precaution, returned to base with no further complications.”