F-15 fighter crashes in sea off Japan

An American F-15 fighter jet crashed into the sea near Okinawa island this morning, Japanese and American military officials said. The pilot safely ejected.

The plane went down off the coast of Ikeijima island, part of the Okinawa island chain, said Noriaki Hatake, an official at the Naha Defence Facilities Administration in Okinawa.

Hatake said the cause of the crash was unknown. The US Kadena Air Base said the pilot ejected safely from the plane and was rescued. He was in good condition.

Okinawa is 660 miles south of Tokyo.