The pilot of a U.S. Air Force plane that crashed into the North Sea Monday is confirmed dead.
The F-15C Eagle, from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom crashed into the sea east of the U.K. around 9:40 a.m. on Monday. The pilot was conducting a routine training mission, but RAF Lakenheath have said the cause of the crash is still being investigated.
US Air Force plane crashes into North Sea
Her Majesty's Coastguard initially only found the wreckage of the plane but hours later 48th Wing Commander Col. Will Marshall confirmed via video that the pilot's remains had been located.
"This is a tragic loss for the 48th Fighter Wing community, and our deepest condolences go out to the pilot's family and the 493rd Fighter Squadron," the tweet from RAF Lakenheath read.
This crash is the most recent of a string of fighter jet crashes. At the end of May, pilots from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida crashed two fighter jets in five days -- an F-35 and an F-22 -- resulting in a "safety pause." No pilots or crew were killed in either of those crashes.
“The events over the past few days remind us that the defense of our country can be a dangerous business,” Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, commander of the 96th Test Wing said in a statement posted on Facebook. “It is very important to me that we now take a safety pause."
The identity of the pilot killed in Monday's crash is being held until next of kin are notified.
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Reach Elizabeth Howe on Twitter @ECBHowe.
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