F-15E fighter jet crash-landed in Libya
RAF spy planes helped save the lives of two US Top Guns after their F-15 fighter jet crash-landed in Libya, it was revealed last night.
The airmen had to eject from their Strike Eagle warplane after it suffered catastrophic mechanical failure on a mission to hit Gaddafi’s missile bases.
They parachuted to safety as the plane plummeted to the ground but got separated in the drop.
Sharp-eyed British crew on board RAF Sentinel and Sentry surveillance planes picked up the locations of both men and were able to feed vital information to rescuers.
Last night the two airmen were out of Libya, having suffered only minor injuries during their escape – but six civilians, including a young boy, were reportedly shot by a US plane sent in to rescue one of them.
The stricken F-15E jet – based at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk – crashed 25 miles from Benghazi late on Monday night.
The plane’s weapons officer parachuted into a rocky field and hid in a sheep pen as locals approached.
Witness Younis Amruni, 27, said: “I hugged him and said, ‘Don’t be scared, we are your friends’.”
Younis said people lined up to shake the airman’s hand and added: “We are so grateful to these men who are protecting the skies.”
It reportedly strafed the ground as it swooped in – possibly fearing that Gaddafi troops were hunting for the crew. One of the six injured Libyans was the young boy whose father claimed his leg would have to be amputated.
Most rebels in the area brushed aside the incident as an “accident”. They later posed alongside the charred wreckage of the F-15E.
A senior RAF chief said British crew had played a “crucial” role in the tense rescue operation.
Air Vice-Marshal Phil Osborn said: “They helped the coalition understand what was going on in what was a very tense environment.”
Admiral Samuel Locklear, commander of the USS Mount Whitney, blamed an equipment malfunction as he said: “Both crew members ejected and they’re safe.
“One crew member was recovered by coalition forces. The other was recovered by Libyan people. He was treated with dignity and respect, and is now in the care of the United States.”
Officials said they took the reports of civilian casualties “very seriously”. An investigation is already under way.
Among the British jets being flown against Gaddafi is the hi-tech Typhoon fighter on its first combat mission.
Wing Commander Jeremy “Jez” Attridge, 41, is piloting one of the 1,550mph jets from the British post in Gioia del Colle, Italy.
Flying at twice the speed of sound it is over Libya in just TEN minutes. Wing Co Attridge, of RAF Coningsby, Lincs, said: “It was great to be part of history and use the Typhoon for the first time in a combat role.”
One of the ten £125million superjets is piloted by a woman. An RAF source said: “No one makes a big deal out of it. She is an incredible pilot.”
Group Captain Martin Sampson, in command of the RAF jets at Gioia del Colle, said last night: “Everything is working like clockwork. The ten Typhoons and four Tornadoes that we have here now are a formidable mix.”
