A US fighter jet returning to a Marine base made famous by the film Top Gun crashed in flames, killing three people on the ground, leaving one missing and destroying two homes.

Investigators are sifting through wreckage for clues to what caused a US Navy Blue Angel jet to crash into homes during an air show in South Carolina.

A US Navy jet crashed during an air show in South Carolina, plunging into a neighbourhood of small homes and caravans and killing the pilot.