The F-15C Eagle, from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, crashed into North Sea

A US Air Force Pilot is missing after the F-15C Eagle crashed into North Sea

The F-15C Eagle, from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, crashed into North Sea
The F-15C Eagle, from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, crashed into the North Sea

A US Air Force Pilot is missing after the F-15C Eagle, from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, crashed into the North Sea, shortly after 09:40BST while on a training mission.

The cause of the crash is currently not known but the US Air Force confirmed only one pilot was on board.

Search and rescue teams are looking for the aircraft, which is believed to have crashed 74 nautical miles off the East Yorkshire coast.

The F15C, a single-seater air defence fighter, is a model jet that has been used by the US Air Force since 1979, which has an exceptional flight safety record.

More than 4, 000 US servicemen and women are stationed at RAF Lakenheath, the largest US Air Force-operated base in England. Lakenheath had been solely used by the RAF during World War Two and was abandoned as an operational base at the end of the war.