British coastguards have located the wreckage of a US fighter plane that crashed into the North Sea and the pilot has been found dead.

The F-15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing, which was on a routine training mission, crashed off the coast of northeast England around 9.40am local time on Monday. Only the pilot was on board.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I can confirm the pilot of the downed F-15 Sea Eagle has been located and confirmed deceased,” Colonel Will Marshall said.

“This is a tragic loss.”

The US Air Force had earlier said the pilot was missing after the aircraft crashed during a “routine training mission”. The cause of the crash was unknown, the force said.

The pilot of the downed F-15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing has been located, and confirmed deceased.

This is a tragic loss for the 48th Fighter Wing community, and our deepest condolences go out to the pilot's family and the 493rd Fighter Squadron.https://t.co/GwCWFwImaS

— RAF Lakenheath (@48FighterWing) June 15, 2020

“The pilot of the downed F-15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing has been located, and confirmed deceased,” , the squadron’s official Twitter feed said.

“This is a tragic loss for the 48th Fighter Wing community, and our deepest condolences go out to the pilot’s family and the 493rd Fighter Squadron.”

Efforts to recover the wreckage of the jet were continuing.

The aircraft was from RAF Lakenheath, the largest US Air Force-operated base in England and the only US Air Forces in Europe F-15 fighter wing. It is located about 40km northeast of Cambridge.

In 2014, a US military helicopter crashed on the coast of eastern England, killing all four crew on board.