US pilot found dead after fighter jet crashes in North Sea

‘This is a tragic loss for the 48th Fighter Wing community,’ says unit commander Will Marshall

The pilot of a US Air Force (USAF) warplane that crashed into the North Sea on Monday morning has been found dead, the service has confirmed.

An F-15C of the 48th Fighter Wing, based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, crashed 74 nautical miles off the Yorkshire coast at about 9.30am during a training exercise.

HM Coastguard found the wreckage late in the afternoon, and Colonel Will Marshall, the unit’s commander, confirmed a few hours later that the pilot’s body had been found.

Col Marshall said in a statement: “It is with a very heavy heart that I confirm the pilot of the downed F-15C Eagle has been located and confirmed deceased.

“Out of respect for the family and their privacy during this incredibly difficult time we will not release the name of the pilot until after all next of kin notifications have been completed.

“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.”

The cause of the crash is not yet known, Col Marshall said earlier.

Lakenheath is the largest of the USAF’s bases in the UK, a network built up by the allies over the course of the Cold War. The Suffolk site has about 4,500 active-duty personnel alongside 1,000 British and American civilians.

The 48th Fighter Wing flies a mix of F-15C air superiority fighters and F-15E Strike Eagle multirole jets that can be used to attack ground targets.

It became known as the Liberty Wing when it was established in France after the Second World War. The unit moved to Lakenheath in the 1960s after Charles de Gaulle ordered the US military out of France.