Pilot killed as US F-18 fighter jet crashes in UK

A US F-18 fighter jet crashed near a British air base on Wednesday, killing the pilot, police and the US Embassy in London said.

RAF Lakenheath has been an air force base since 1941 and operated heavily during World War II. “The noise was terrible-I’ve never heard that before”.

The jet crashed in farmland around 10 miles north west of Lakenheath, in Redmere, Ely, near the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border.

“We are hearing reports and we are awaiting further information about it”, said a spokeswoman for RAF Lakenheath.

The spokesman for Marine Forces Europe said the jet was refueling during transit back home from Bahrain when it crashed.

Emergency services were called to the scene in Redmere, Ely, at around 10.30am.

The identity of the pilot killed in the crash hasn’t been released, and it is unknown if the pilot was able to eject from his aircraft. “It is a one-seater aircraft so no one else was in it”, she said. Matthew Barzun, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, tweeted: “The loss in Cambridgeshire today is bad news, my thoughts & prayers are with all involved”.

The Air Force said it was investigating.

Two fire and rescue crews were also in attendance, although Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said there was “no sign of any firefighting action taking place”.

The pilot ejected safely, sustaining only minor injuries, and no one on the ground was hurt.