The US Air Force said the plane had taken off from RAF Lakenheath in England (File)
London:
The British Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation on Monday to find the pilot of an American fighter plane that crashed during a routine training mission in the North Sea.
The U.S. Air Force said the F-15C Eagle fell after taking off from RAF base in Lakenheath near the town of Mildenhall in eastern England.
The base is home to 48 Wing Fighter, which has operated since 1960 and has more than 4,500 active duty personnel.
“A US Air Force F-15C Eagle crashed at approximately 9:40 am (0840 GMT) today (Monday) in the North Sea,” said USAF Captain Miranda T. Simmons of RAF Lakenheath.
“The cause of the crash and the status of the pilot are unknown at this time, and UK Search and Rescue has been called in to provide support.”
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it was coordinating the response.
“The HM Coastguard helicopter from Humberside was dispatched with Bridlington and Scarborough RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboats,” he said in a statement.
“Following a Mayday broadcast by HM Coastguard, other nearby vessels are heading for the area,” he added, adding that the plane had descended 74 nautical miles (137 km) offshore from East Yorkshire.
Citing a flight tracking website, Sky News television said the plane flew over the area before disappearing.
Manufactured by Boeing, the single-seat F-15C entered service with the US Air Force in 1979, according to security and defense group Janes.
In total, 211 of the 409 aircraft produced are in service today.
Royal Air Force spokesman Martin Tinworth said the plane had an “exceptional flight safety record”.
An American F-18 fighter plane crashed near the town of Ely in the east of England in October 2015, killing the pilot after taking off from RAF from Lakenheath.
Last October, an F-15 from the base crashed into a field but the pilot ejected safely. In January of the same year, four airmen were killed when a US helicopter crashed during a low-altitude training exercise.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
