LONDON — Rescue teams found the wreckage of a second missing U.S. Air Force F-15 aircraft on Wednesday in the Scottish Highlands, and the search continued for the pilot, the U.S. Air Force said.
The first of the missing single-seat planes, as well as a body, were found Tuesday near the top of the same mountain, Ben Macdhui in the Cairngorm mountains.
The two aircraft vanished Monday 45 minutes after taking off from Lakenheath Air Base 75 miles northeast of London.
The U.S. Air Force at Lakenheath has identified the missing men as Lt. Col. Kenneth Hyvonen and Capt. Kirk Jones.
British and American military helicopters and search planes, plus police, air force and civilian rescue teams, carried out the land and air search in thick clouds and heavy snow. An avalanche risk made the search perilous, the Royal Air Force said.
"We are having to keep an absolute watch on the snow every second," said flight Sgt. Al Sylvester, leader of the RAF's mountain rescue team. "The search itself in the snow is extremely hard but the avalanche danger is making it all but impossible."