US F-15 fighter jet crashes in Virginia

August 28, 2014 | 08:52

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A US F-15C fighter jet crashed on Wednesday (Aug 27) in a Virginia forest and it was unclear if the pilot ejected before the plane went down, officials said.

A US F-15C fighter jet crashed on Wednesday (Aug 27) in a Virginia forest and it was unclear if the pilot had ejected before the plane went down, officials said. (AFP/Handout/US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Dana J Butler)

WASHINGTON: A US F-15C fighter jet crashed on Wednesday (Aug 27) in a Virginia forest and it was unclear if the pilot ejected before the plane went down, officials said.

The aircraft was part of the Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing from Westfield, Massachusetts, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tom Crosson said.

The single-seat jet went down at around 1300 GMT (9pm Singapore time) in a rural area near the town of Deerfield in George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, about 290 kilometres southwest of Washington DC, officials said.

The aircraft had no munitions on board when it crashed, said Colonel James Keefe, commander of the 104th Fighter Wing. "The aircraft was flying to New Orleans naval air station at high altitude and it was going to receive a scheduled modification to its radar," Keefe said.

The pilot of the jet did not report an emergency before losing radio contact shortly after 9am, Keefe said. There was an "ongoing rescue mission" to find the fighter pilot, he said. "At this time we have not had contact with our pilot."

AFP

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