LIBYA: Was the F-15 plane shot down?

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During the night, an American F-15 fighter jet^E Strike Eagle crashed near Benghazi, Libya. Both crew members ejected, one was recovered, and the search for the second pilot is ongoing. The aircraft, normally based at Lakenheath, Great Britain, had taken off for its mission from Aviano Air Base in Italy.

This is the first officially acknowledged loss of a coalition aircraft in Libya.

False rumor

Pro-Gaddafi Libyans spread the rumor that they had shot down the aircraft while it was flying over the northeast of the country. This version was officially denied by the spokesperson for US Africa Command, Karin Burzynski (who coordinates operations from Stuttgart, Germany): the aircraft reportedly experienced an equipment malfunction, and that is when the two pilots ejected.