U.S. jets missing over Scotland

The missing F-15 jets like this one are based at Lakenheath in southern England

EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Two U.S. jets have gone missing during a training exercise over the mountains of Scotland.

The Pentagon confirmed two F-15 C fighter jets on a training flight were overdue from their scheduled landing at a base in Lakenheath near London on Monday afternoon.

As rescue teams were scrambled into searching the mountainous terrain of the Scottish Highlands, reports were confirmed by the U.S. Army that a reconnaissance plane had crashed at about the same time in Germany, killing two people.

German police said the twin-engine prop RC-12 aerial reconnaissance plane was on its approach to Nuremberg airport when it went down.

The RC-12 is a military version of the Beech King Air, studded with sensitive antennae and sensors. The plane, dubbed the "Guardrail," is used to collect and relay electronic intelligence to commanders on the battlefield.

Police in Scotland said the two jet fighters had been reported missing during a routine mission at 2.40 p.m. (1340 GMT).

A Grampian police spokesman said the planes had not returned to the Royal Air Force (RAF) base of Lakenheath, near London, as scheduled at 3.30 p.m. (1430 GMT).

VIDEO CNN's Tom Mintier describes the search and rescue operation and shows the area the jets were in Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

A police spokeswoman added: "We had a call at 2.40 p.m. (1340 GMT) that the planes were missing around the Braemar area, 50 miles west of Aberdeen. It is a mountainous area and the visibility is not good."

She added that a helicopter from the police's rescue co-ordination centre had been scrambled as well as a mountain rescue team.

The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that the two aircraft were missing.

The planes, each carrying one pilot, were from the 493rd Fighter Squadron, and had been involved in low level exercises. On board was sophisticated radar equipment.

Michael Mulford, a spokesman for the Royal Air Force, told Sky News: "Contact was lost on the radar and radio.

"We did have somebody report an explosion in the Cairngorms. We had no reports of distress beacons or flares."

He added: "It is something of a mystery. We are concerned of course, for the pilots, but at the moment, we simply have no trace.

"Each minute and each hour that goes by, we are profoundly worried about their fate. At this point it is very difficult to be anything other than pessimistic."

Mulford said the planes were modern and the pilots would have "almost certainly" been familiar with the area.

Mountain rescue teams have joined the search in Scotland

Two Nimrods from RAF Kinloss and three Sea King helicopters -- two from RAF Lossiemouth and one from RAF Boulmer -- were involved in the search, said an RAF spokeswoman.

They were joined by two RAF mountain rescue teams, from Kinloss and Leuchars, and the Braemar Mountain rescue team.

The RAF said the F15s left RAF Lakenheath at around 12.30 p.m. (1130 GMT) for a three-hour sortie in the Scottish Highlands.

They last made radio contact at 1.15 p.m. (1215 GMT).

Temperatures were falling on Monday evening amid falling snow in the Scottish Highlands. The Cairngorms, with four peaks in excess of more than 4,000-feet (1,120-metres) is one of the UK's highest ranges. It includes Ben Macdhui at 4,296-feet (1,309-metres).

The large and powerful F-15, the U.S. Air Force's most effective fighter, is a twin-engine machine that serves as an air-superiority plane to shoot down enemy aircraft and as a versatile strike bomber.

U.S. Air Force
Lakenheath
Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team
F15s: U.S. Air Force pictures
Key facts: F15C jets
Lakenheath

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