A USAF spokesman said he was "hopeful" search teams would be able to "locate and recover" a pilot who went missing after his jet crashed into the North Sea.

The F-15C aircraft, which went into the water 74 nautical miles off the East Yorkshire coast, was from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.

Colonel Will Marshall said the cause of the crash, which occurred during a training mission, was unknown.

He also praised UK counterparts for their help in the search.

Earlier this month, the F-15s based at RAF Lakenheath had been part of a display to mark the 76th anniversary of D-Day.

This post on the 48th Fighter Wing's Instagram page shows four jets performing a "missing man formation" over the beaches of Normandy.

The 48th Fighter Wing also performed the missing man formation as part of a flypast for the 75th anniversary of the Mi Amigo US bomber crash in Sheffield.

On its website,, external the US Air Force says the F-15 Eagle - the type of jet which has crashed in the North Sea - is an "all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield".

• It has a wingspan of 42.8 feet (13 meters) and is 63.8 feet (19.44 meters) in length. They stand 18.5 feet (5.6 meters) high
• The jet can reach a speed of up to 1,875mph (Mach 2 class) and fly up to an altitude of 65,000 feet (19,812 meters)
• Fully fuelled, the fighter has a range of 3,450 miles (3,000 nautical miles). For scale, the distance from London to New York City is 3,459 miles
• The F-15C model which crashed can carry one crew member, but other models can carry two

This YouTube footage celebrates some "great sounding" F-15 jets at the US base.

An area of north-west Suffolk largely reliant on the custom of those occupying the US military bases at its heart - RAF Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell - is often known as "Little America".

In the past seven decades, tens of thousands of US military personnel, their spouses and their children have set up home in this Suffolk enclave for postings lasting between two and four years.

There is no defined border for "Little America" - arriving there is mostly signalled by a preponderance of large, American cars and signs bearing the Stars and Stripes.

Many businesses in the area also accept payment in dollars.

At RAF Lakenheath there are about 5,500 active-duty military members and 2,700 British and US civilians working on base

The United States Air Force claims RAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall are worth a combined £700m ($910m) to the local economy.

Laurence Cawley
BBC News

Days like today are the ones everybody at RAF Lakenheath fears the most.

Six years ago an F15 went into a tail spin before crashing into the ground close to homes in Western Hills, Lincolnshire. The base commander at the time told me how his primary fears were the safety of UK citizens, the safety of his air crew and the USAF’s relationship with its host country.

Many would be surprised at just how unlike USAF pilots are to the characters portrayed in films like Top Gun.

The changing rooms before a training mission are intensely serious places, with pilots quietly ruminating on every last detail of the flight ahead.

A short walk from the changing area is a room called "the vault".

"The vault holds all the classified information those with clearance need to piece together exactly what happened during a particular flight or mission,” the then commander told me.

That's where all of the voice, sensor data and display recordings will be. It will be from this same vault that the exact cause of today’s crash will emerge.

In a video posted on Twitter, Col Will Marshall, from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, said that the pilot was still missing but he was "hopeful" he will be found.

RAF Lakenheath's 48th fighter wing say that the pilot of the jet is "still missing" after the F-15 they were flying crashed in the North Sea at about 09:40 BST.

• A US F-15 fighter jet crashed in the North Sea at about 09:40 BST
• There was one pilot on board, but their status remains unknown
• A search and rescue mission is under way at the site of the crash, 74 nautical miles (137km) off the coast of East Yorkshire
• The flight originated from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk - a US air base
• The crashed jet had been one of four flying in a formation as part of a "routine training mission"

Pictures from the Yorkshire coast show fog over the North Sea after a US fighter jet crashed.

• CNN report , externalthat the crashed jet was part of a US Air Force mission
• The New York Post, external writes that RAF Lakenheath is home to the United States' only F-15 fighter wing in Europe
• ABC News, external says the air craft was a F-15C Eagle

Data from MarineTraffic - a website that tracks ships and vessels using GPS - shows that an RNLI lifeboat is on its way to the scene of the crashed US fighter jet.

The search and rescue crew from Scarborough were deployed at 09:20, according to data on the website.

Image source, MarineTraffic

It is reported that the US fighter jet has crashed off the coast of East Yorkshire.

It had been in a formation with three other jets, but for reasons as yet unknown, crashed into the North Sea at 09:40 BST.

The jets, from RAF Lakenheath, were on a "routine training mission".

On Twitter, the aviation acccount @CivMilAir shares an indication of the effort going into the search and rescue operation.

In a post at just after 11:00 BST, they said military aircraft were circling the crash site with search and rescue teams deployed.

Martin Barber
BBC News

As hundreds of non-essential shops reopen for the first time today in months, shoppers in Norwich are encouraged to respect social distancing and take notice of the many one-way signs for moving around the city.

The city's market, featuring nearly 90 businesses, is asking visitors to use the narrow rows in alternate up and down directions.

Early visitors to the market today seemed to be observing the one-way system, though shoppers coming into the city down St Stephens Street, which asks people to use each side of the street for one direction only, were rather more oblivious to the request clearly marked on the pavement.

• A US fighter jet has crashed into the North Sea
• One pilot was aboard - their status is unknown at this time
• The F-15 was 74 nautical miles (137km) off the coast of East Yorkshire at the time of the crash
• The flight had originated from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk - a US air base
• The crashed jet had been flying in a formation with three other jets when it crashed at 09:40 BST
• A search and rescue operation is under way with support from HM Coastguard

A rescue helicopter based in the Humber region and RNLI lifeboats from Scarborough and Bridlington have been deployed in the search for a US fighter jet which has crashed into the North Sea.

Image source, PA Media

In a statement, HM Coastguard said it received a report of a plane "going down into the sea" about 75 nautical miles (86 miles) off Flamborough Head.

It said that following a Mayday call other nearby vessels are heading to the area to help with the search.

The Us Airforce has said the F-15C jet, from RAF Lakenheath was on a training mission when the crash happened at about 09:40.

It said the pilot and jet have not yet been located.

Royal Air Force Lakenheath is a military base that is run and operated by the US Air Force.

Lakenheath had been solely used by the RAF during the 1939-45 conflict and was abandoned as an operational base at the end of the war.

The United States Air Force's 48th Bombardment Group, the forerunner of the 48th Fighter Wing, was relocated from Chaumaunt, France, to RAF Lakenheath in 1960 when the USAF took over the base.

It is home to thousands of US service men and women who are stationed there throughout the year.

Search and Rescue teams are looking for the crashed US fighter jet, which is believed to have crashed 74 nautical miles (137km) off the East Yorkshire coast.

A spokeswoman for HM Coastguard said: "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."

RAF Lakenheath's 48th fighter wing has tweeted, confirming news of the crash.

They say that a search and rescue effort is under way to find the pilot who was aboard the jet, which crashed into the North Sea at 09:40 BST.