Aircraft wreckage has been found after a US Air Force F-15 fighter jet crashed off the coast of northeast England during a routine training mission Monday, sparking a search for its pilot in the North Sea, according to reports.
The twin-engine F-15C Eagle went down about 9:40 a.m. local time about 74 nautical miles off Flamborough Head in East Yorkshire, the BBC reported.
“The aircraft was from the 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Leakenheath, United Kingdom,” the Air Force said in a statement. “At the time of the accident, the aircraft was on a routine training mission with one pilot on board.
“The cause of the crash as well as the status of the pilot are unknown at this time, and UK Search and Rescue have been called to support,” it added.
“Search efforts by Her Majesty’s Coastguard have located wreckage from the downed F-15C Eagle and recovery efforts are underway,” the Air Force said in a later statement.
Citing a flight tracker website, Sky News said the jet circled in the area before disappearing.
Shortly before the crash, the base tweeted a photograph of three F-15s with the caption: “Ready to take on Monday.”
A coast guard spokeswoman told the BBC: “The HM Coastguard helicopter from Humberside has been sent along with Bridlington and Scarborough RNLI lifeboats.
“Following a Mayday broadcast by HM Coastguard, other vessels nearby are heading to the area,” she added.
RAF Lakenheath, the largest US Air Force-operated base in England, is home to its only F-15 fighter wing in Europe. More than 4,000 US service members are stationed there.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In October 2014, an F-15 stationed at RAF Lakenheath crashed near Spalding in Lincolnshire, according to the Telegraph. The pilot suffered only minor injuries after ejecting, and no one on the ground was hurt.
A US Air Force probe found that the crash was caused by the “angle of attack” — the angle at which the relative wind meets the wing — and “imperfections” in the assembly of the plane’s nose cap.
In October 2015, Maj. Taj Sareen died when his F-18 crashed near RAF Lakenheath, the paper reported.