US jet plane crash in London claims pilot’s life

A U.S. jet plane F-18 crashed at the farmland of Cambridgeshire near the town of Ely, London, at 10:30 BST on Wednesday, claiming the life of its pilot. The aircraft was en route from Bahrain to the United States, U.S. military sources and British police said.

F-18 had taken its flight from the U.S. base Royal Air Force Lakenheath but crashed four miles from RAF Mildenhall located in Suffolk. The pilot was reportedly the only crew member occupying the aircraft. He was thrashed from his aircraft when it started moving down, California Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Donald Bohanner said. The Marine Corps stated that the identity of the aircraft driver is being held secret until his family is informed about his death.

The aircraft was an F/A, a 18C hornet from Marine Attack Fighter Squadron 232 that belonged to a fleet of six fighter jets that were scheduled to take off for California, U.S. air force officials said.

“The aircraft was transitioning from Bahrain to Miramar in a flight of six aircraft when it crashed approximately six miles northwest to the airfield. The remaining five F/A-18Cs safely diverted to RAF Lossiemouth,” a statement released by the Marine Corps stated.

The statement also said that the United Kingdom Coast Guard was present on the scene and was working in coordination with the U.S. military forces. The cause of the crash is still unknown.

Karen Miles-Holdaway, a witness to the crash from Redmere, praised the pilot for his intelligence and said that he did a good job in avoiding any houses being destructed because of the plane crash. “You could feel the ground move so what I think I heard was probably the impact,” she told the BBC.

The Cambridge Fire and Rescue Service said that two crews were sent to the crash spot within two hours. “No firefighting or rescue action was required, but they remained on scene in a support capacity,” the spokesman said.

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