Pictured: Recently married pilot who died when US Air Force F-15C fighter jet crashed in the North Sea 74 miles off the Yorkshire coast as wife pays tribute to her ‘absolute best friend’
- The dead pilot who crashed into North Sea has been named 1st Lt Kenneth Allen
- Lt Allen’s F15C Eagle crashed at around 9.40am on Monday while training
- Known as Kage, he leaves behind wife Hannah who called him her ‘best friend’
A recently married US fighter pilot who died after crashing off the north-east coast of Britain has been mourned by his distraught wife as her ‘absolute best friend’.
Lieutenant Kenneth ‘Kage’ Allen has been formally named by the American military as the airman whose F15C Eagle smashed into the North Sea on Monday morning.
The pilot, who had been on a routine training exercise, had served with the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, eastern, England, since February this year.
He was also assistant chief of weapons and tactics for 493rd Fighter Squadron – better known as the Grim Reapers.
Lt Allen leaves behind his parents and wife Hannah, who in a heartbreaking tribute said she was ‘blessed to have loved him in this life and can’t wait to love him for eternity’.
Still raw from her husband’s tragic death, she said she had ‘no words to express how shaken I am’.
The US fighter pilot who died when his jet crashed into the North Sea off the north-east coast of England has been named by the US air force as 1st Lt Kenneth Allen
He is survived by his parents and wife Hannah, who in a heartbreaking tribute said she was ‘blessed to have loved him in this life and can’t wait to love him for eternity’
Hannah wrote: ‘He is gone. I’m shaking, I got a priesthood blessing and he told me Kage is so sorry – typical Kage to apologize even though he shouldn’t.
‘No words to express how shaken I am. Kage was perfect, never been treated with more love and respect in my life.
‘He was my absolute best friend and man Christ needs hurry up and come back so I can be with Kage again.
‘Thanks for all the messages. I love you all, Kage loves you all. He was so Christ like in how he cared for others.
‘I feel beyond blessed to have loved him in this life and can’t wait to love him for eternity.’
Still raw from her husband’s tragic death, Hannahsaid she had ‘no words to express how shaken I am’
HM Coastguard, which co-ordinated the search efforts, said it received reports that an aircraft went into the sea 74 nautical miles (85 miles) off the coast of Flamborough Head in east Yorkshire.
The single-seater plane had been taking part in a four-jet formation before it crashed.
Wreckage was located before the pilot was found and confirmed to be deceased.
The cause of the crash is not known and an investigation is under way. The F15C is a model of jet that has been used by the US Air Force since 1979.
The US air force said in a statement that next of kin notifications were complete.
Colonel Will Marshall, commander of 48th Fighter Wing, said: ‘We are deeply saddened by the loss of Lt Allen, and mourn with his family and his fellow Reapers in the 493rd Fighter Squadron.
‘The tremendous outpouring of love and support from our communities has been a ray of light in this time of darkness.’
The pilot, who had been on a routine training exercise, had served with the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk since February this year
He was also assistant chief of weapons and tactics for 493rd Fighter Squadron – better known as the Grim Reapers
In October 2014, an F15D fighter jet based at RAF Lakenheath crashed in fields near Spalding in Lincolnshire.
The pilot ejected safely, suffering only minor injuries, and no-one on the ground was hurt.
A US air force investigation found that the crash was caused by the ‘angle of attack’ of the aircraft and ‘imperfections’ in the assembly of the jet’s nose cap.
In October 2015, US pilot Major Taj Sareen died when his F-18 Hornet jet crashed on farmland near RAF Lakenheath.
A subsequent investigation found the 34-year-old did not report problems with his aircraft before take-off.
Yesterday RAF Lakenheath shared pictures of three warplanes with the caption: ‘Ready to take on Monday like… #weareliberty.
F-15C Eagle: The £21 million US tactical fighter capable of reaching 1,650mph that has never been shot down in combat
The F-15C Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing, in 1972.
It entered service in 1979 and is among the most successful fighter jets in production today, with no losses in aerial combat.
An F-15 coming into land at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk yesterday
The aircraft is predominantly used by the US Air Force as well as the air forces of Saudi Arabia, Israel and Japan.
Each model costs around £21million ($28million) and the aircraft has been modified and improved over the years with different variants now used around the world, including the faster F-15E Strike Eagle.
As of 2017, the aircraft is being produced in different variants with production set to end in 2022.
At a glance:
Crew: One pilot
Length: 63ft 9ins (19.43m)
Wingspan: 42ft 10ins (13.05m)
Height: 18ft 6ins (5.63m)
Max takeoff weight: 68,000lbs (30,845kg)
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 or −220 afterburning turbofans
Max speed: Mach 2.5+ (1,650mph)
Max altitude: 65,000ft (20,000m)
Armament: One 20mm (0.787in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel Rotary cannon, four AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, four AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, eight AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles