Jonathan Beale
BBC defence correspondent

When a fast jet pilots ejects from an aircraft that normally activates a personal location beacon attached to the life jacket.

It's still not known whether the pilot managed to eject.

Jonathan Beale
BBC defence correspondent

Search and rescue teams have found aircraft wreckage close to the reported crash site of the US Air Force jet that crashed this morning.

But they are still continuing the search for the pilot.

• Fire engines were seen on the runway at lunchtime as they waited for the other planes to return from the mission. One of the planes was later seen landing, reportedly with a cracked canopy, according to The Daily Telegraph, external
• The Daily Mail says, external the aircraft had been taking part in a four-jet formation off Flamborough Head, near Bridlington, before it hit the water
• People have sent well wishes on Twitter the Wing amid news of the crash this morning, reports the Daily Mirror, external

Paul Murphy
BBC Look North

A marine traffic app shows at least 10 vessels in search and rescue mode searching around the crash region.

Image source, Getty Images

One is a Siemens offshore accommodation ship based Grimsby and the search area is roughly 25 sq miles.

BBC Look North reporter Caroline Bilton has updated us on the search for a missing US fighter jet pilot off Flamborough Head in East Yorkshire.

The F-15C Eagle, from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, crashed shortly after 09:30 BST while on a training mission.

• A US F-15 fighter jet crashed into the North Sea at 09:30 BST. Its pilot - the only person aboard - is missing
• A search and rescue operation is under way with support from the RNLI at the site of the crash, 74 nautical miles (137km) from the coast of East Yorkshire
• The jet from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk was one of four on a "routine training mission"

BBC Look East's Richard Daniel reports live from RAF Lakenheath as the search for a US fighter pilot off the Yorkshire coast continues.

• The F15C, a single-seater air defence fighter, is a model of jet that has been used by the US Air Force since 1979,reports the East Anglian Daily Times, external
• The Yorkshire Post says, external the crash happened off Flamborough Head, near Bridlington
• RAF Lakenheath is the USAF’s only F-15 fighter wing in Europe, with both F-15E and F-15C fighters providing air combat capability,according to The Eastern Daily Press, external

Colonel Will Marshall said efforts to locate a US airman off the UK coast were ongoing.

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