London - British coastguards have located
the wreckage of a US fighter plane that crashed into the North
Sea on Monday and the pilot has been found dead, the US Air
Force said in a statement.
The F-15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing, which was on a
routine training mission, crashed off the coast of northeast
England at around 0940 local time (0840 GMT). Only the pilot was
on board.
"The pilot of the downed F-15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter
Wing has been located, and confirmed deceased," the squadron's
official Twitter feed said.
"This is a tragic loss for the 48th Fighter Wing community,
and our deepest condolences go out to the pilot's family and the
493rd Fighter Squadron."
Efforts to recover the wreckage of the jet were continuing.
The aircraft was from RAF Lakenheath, the largest US Air
Force-operated base in England and the only US Air Forces in
Europe (USAFE) F-15 fighter wing. It is located about 25 miles
(40 km) northeast of Cambridge.
In 2014, a US military helicopter crashed on the coast of
eastern England, killing all four crew on board.