LONDON (Web Desk) – British police has said one person was killed when a US Navy F-18 jet crashed Wednesday near an air base in the UK, Washington Post reported.
Cambridgeshire police told BBC News the pilot has died.
“There is believed to have been one person on board, and there has been one confirmed fatality,” police said.
Officials said the plane took off from Lakenheath air base, but was not connected to the base, the BBC reported.
It crashed in farmland in Redmere, about 7 miles from Lakenheath around 10:30 a.m.
Air Force spokeswoman Stephanie Longoria said the service was looking into reports that a jet crashed after taking off from a British air base, but she had no further information.
Officials at RAF Lakenheath said that a news release with more details would be available within the hour.
The twin-engine F-18 Super Hornet comes in single-seat and two-seat versions. It is the same jet used by the famous Blue Angels since 1986.
This is not the first time a US jet has crashed near Lakenheath.
A year ago, a US Air Force F-15 crashed in a field near the air base. The pilot was not seriously hurt.
In January 2014 four US Air Force crew members based at Lakenheath died when their helicopter hit a flock of geese and crashed during a training mission.
