A US Navy pilot has died in an F-18 jet crash in the Fens in Cambridgeshire, close to an RAF base. The Hornet crashed on farm land in Redmere, near Ely, close to the Suffolk border, with the alarm raised at 10:30 BST.
Cambridgeshire Police confirmed the pilot, the only crew member, died. The aircraft had taken off from RAF Lakenheath, but was not connected to the base. It crashed four miles from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said it sent two crews, which were stood down within two hours. “No firefighting or rescue action was required, but they remained on scene in a support capacity,” the spokeswoman said.
Amateur aviation enthusiast Roger Smith told BBC Radio Suffolk that the F-18 was one of a group of Hornet Marine Corps planes that were heading back to the US from the Middle East.
