AN American fighter jet has crashed into a field in Lincolnshire, bursting into flames.
The pilot ejected safely, suffering only very minor injuries. No-one was injured on the ground, with a primary school nearby. The F-15D from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath crashed at about 3.28pm, while conducting a combat training mission. It hit the ground at Western Hills, Broadgate, near Spalding as it returned to the Suffolk base.
It is not yet known what caused the two-seater plane to go down, with Lincolnshire Police alerted by stunned eye witnesses.
Officers were guarding the scene until crash investigators and other military personnel arrived, as firefighters tackled the blaze. No live weapons were on the stricken plane, which is capable of 1,600mph. The pilot of the £20-million twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter, was recovered by USAF colleagues by Sikorsky search and rescue helicopter, dispatched to the scene as another aircraft from Lakenheath conducted regular passes of the site. That jet returned to Lakenheath, home of the USAF 48th Fighter Wing, just after 4.30pm. At 5pm, 48th Fighter Wing said, on Twitter, "We can confirm that one of our jets went down north of the base, in Lincolnshire. The pilot ejected and is safe. The spokesman continued: "We are very relieved that the pilot was able the eject. Our pilots train for every emergency to mitigate damage and injury. We hope they never have to use it, but we're glad they have it." The pilot was later described as being in "fine spirits" by the base commander. A cordon was been put in place and the public were advised to avoid the area as the plane was initially alight and the fumes may be hazardous. The warning was reiterated as people were later described as hampering recovery efforts by driving to the scene. The plane was heading south, and may have been involved in a training run at Donna Nook. A Youtube video of stricken F-15D (tail number 182) in Germany last month Lincolnshire's 'bomber county' reputation continues to this day, having been a strategic base for so many of the country's aviation sorties in World War Two. It is home to the RAF's Eurofighter fleet and the Red Arrows, with the largely flat and sparsely populated coastal land ideal for their needs. Servicemen and women at Lincolnshire's RAF bases were understood to be called up soon after the incident for guard duties at the scene in what is likely to be a forensic examination of the high-value debris. nearby residents took to social media, with some claiming to hear the F-15's engines "cut out" before crashing to the ground. @bigtommmm said: "I heard a planes engine cut out over Spalding then 10 minutes later it's crashed in west one hills woah." Roger Smith said: "The plane crashed literally 100 feet from my mums school... Right near some houses. Police say only 1 pilot was in it, but we saw 2 parashoots." Lucy Chesworth tweeted: "Literally just seen an RAF plane go down and crash and pilots parachuting out, ran to help, man that was terrifying, shaking like a leaf." In a later release, just before 6pm, a spokesman for RAF Lakenheath said: "One person was on board the aircraft at the time and ejected safely. A board of qualified officers will investigate the accident. "We appreciate the local communities' and Spalding's patience and understanding. We proactively work to mitigate risk as we train." It is believed the second seat would eject alongside the pilot's in such circumstances, which may have led to initial confusion. The F-15 jet fleet is built by McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing, and was previously grounded in November 2007 as structural issues were raised following a crash. Inspections on all were conducted, with repairs on some, ahead of the grounding being evoked in early 2008. The F-15D was built between 1979 and 1985, with a production run of 92. Recent missions supported from Lakenheath have included the Crimea and Syria.
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