British Airways has apologized for telling 275 passengers en route from London to Hong Kong that their Boeing 747 was in imminent danger of crashing into the sea.

“This is an emergency. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water,” an announcement sounded. The plane was flying over the North Sea at the time.

Cabin crew members quickly set the record straight, saying in effect “uh, never mind.”

British Airways later apologized for causing undue stress. Investigators are still determining whether the message was the result of a computer glitch or a human who pushed the wrong button. ®

This article was updated to correct the name of the airline.

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