COLD LAKE, Alta. – The Canadian Forces says a CF-18 fighter jet has crashed in northeastern Alberta, killing the pilot.
The air force confirmed the death on Twitter but said the name of the pilot will not be released until next of kin have been notified.
The single-seat fighter was based out of Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake.
A helicopter from the base had earlier been dispatched to look for the pilot in the hopes the pilot had been able to eject from the plane and make a safe landing.
CFB Cold Lake is located just outside the community of Cold Lake on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.
The Air Force says the crash happened shortly after 11 a.m. local time.
The plane went down inside the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range that covers almost 30,000 square kilometres straddling the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary.
The Cold Lake base in northeastern Alberta is the busiest fighter base in Canada.
It provides fighter pilot training for all Canadian Forces pilots.
