Rescue teams searching for two missing US F-15C fighters have found a body in the Scottish Highlands, the Royal Air Force said today.
A spokesman said that the identity of the person had not been officially confirmed. But he did say that wreckage from an aircraft found earlier near the summit of Ben Macdui was from one of the missing jets.
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The RAF said rescuers from the RAF Leeming Mountain Rescue Team made the discovery.
An RAF statement said: "At this stage, we are not in a position to identify the wreckage which is believed to be of one aircraft together with spare fuel tanks.
"Weather conditions at present are hampering the search with 40 knot winds and whiteout snow. The rescue teams are continuing the search for further evidence of a crash.
The fighters went missing on Monday on a low-flying training mission over Scotland. The two missing pilots are Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Hyvonen and Captain Kirk Jones. They were both based at the Lakenheath air base in southern England used by the US Air Force.
The US Air Force F-15Cs were on a routine training flight from their base at Lakenheath in Suffolk when they vanished from radar screens.
There were fears the single-seater fighters might have crashed after touching each other in mid-air.
PA