Pilot Killed Following Military Jet Crash near US Base in UK


Pilot Killed Following Military Jet Crash near US Base in UK

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - One person died after a military aircraft crashed Wednesday shortly after taking off from a US Air Force base in the English county of Suffolk, sources said.

"A military aircraft which had taken off from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk came down at about 10.30 am," a spokeswoman from Cambridgeshire police told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"We can confirm one fatality and believe there was just one person on board the aircraft."

The US embassy in London has also confirmed that the aircraft involved was an American F-18 jet, while investigators are still on the scene to determine what happened during the incident.  

A local photographer has taken pictures of a US fighter jet taking off from RAF Lakenheath, shortly before one crashed, Credit:Simon Farrow

Col. Robert G. Novotny, the current US commander of the 48th Fighter Wing at the RAF base in Lakenheath took to Facebook to say that US officials were working with local authorities, adding that a statement would be issued once more information is available.

"Friends, thanks for the private messages regarding the F-18 crash this afternoon. We are hard at work coordinating with the local responders and preserving all the evidence we can."

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