SALT LAKE CITY — The fighter pilot who died after crashing off the coast of northern England has been identified as 1st Lt. Kenneth Allen, the U.S. Air Force said Tuesday.
Allen, 27, died in a routine training accident that took place at 9:40 a.m. Monday. The cause of the F-15C Eagle crash is under investigation.
Allen, who was from northern Utah, had been based with the 48th Fighter Wing at the Royal Air Force’s Lakenheath base since February of this year. He was the assistant chief of weapons and tactics for the 493rd Fighter Squadron.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Lt. Allen, and mourn with his family and his fellow Reapers in the 493rd Fighter Squadron,” said Col. Will Marshall, 48th Fighter Wing commander. “The tremendous outpouring of love and support from our communities has been a ray of light in this time of darkness.’’
Allen is survived by his wife, Hannah, and his parents.
“Kage was perfect, never been treated with more love and respect in my life. He was my absolute best friend,” wrote Hannah Allen in a Facebook post Monday night after being notified by the Air Force of his passing. In another she wrote, “He is the love of my life. I don’t know what I did to deserve him or be apart of his family.”
Stars and Stripes reported Allen was the assistant chief of weapons and tactics for the 493rd Fighter Squadron.
Allen graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2017. Prior to matriculating, he served a mission in Chile for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to a social media post from fellow missionary David Cook.
He was assigned to the most difficult area “in a section of the very worst part of Santiago,” Cook wrote on Facebook.
He added that the assignment was in an area of the capital city that was “a place where the Carabineros (police) did not go,” Cook said. “Not once did he complain.”
While serving, the mission’s motto was “Hacia las alturas,” which is Spanish for “to the heights,” he wrote.
“What a fitting motto for Kage and his dream to be a fighter pilot,” Cook said.
Having married just a few months ago, Hannah Allen was waiting for paperwork to be approved before she could join her husband overseas, she posted on social media in April.
Hundreds of people expressed their sympathies online upon hearing the news of Lt. Kage Allen’s tragic death, including Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who offered his condolences on Facebook.
“Deeply saddened to learn the United States Air Force pilot was Utah’s own 1st Lt. Kenneth ‘Kage’ Allen — a young man known for his faith, kindness, and patriotism. Ann and I send our thoughts and our prayers to Kage’s wife Hannah, his friends, and loved ones.”
Contributing: Associated Press
