A U.S. Marines Corps pilot was killed Wednesday when his F/A-18C Hornet fighter crashed shortly after take off from a military base in the UK.

NBC News reports the fighter jet was taking off from RAF Lakenheath, the largest United States Air Force-operated base in England. It went down 70 miles northeast of London, Senior Airman Amanda Sampson said.

The U.S. Embassy Press publicly confirmed the pilot's death on Twitter.

According to the BBC, the plane landed near a farm in the Cambridgeshire Fens, close to the Suffolk border.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue crews were sent to the scene, but were unable to save the victim.

"No firefighting or rescue action was required, but they remained on scene in a support capacity," a spokeswoman said.

Authorities confirmed that the pilot was the only crew member on the flight.

A 72-year-old resident described the scene of the crash.

"There was a hell of a bang when it hit the ground. It shook all of the houses. It was so loud you could not hear yourself speak," the witness said, according to the Peterborough Telegraph.

Amateur aviation enthusiast Roger Smith told BBC Radio Suffolk that he believed the plane was part of group of Marine Corps jets on their way back to the U.S. from the Middle East.

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar later confirmed the plane belonged to Marine Attack Fighter Squadron 232, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. The unit is also known as the "Red Devils" and may have been deployed as air support for Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Matthew Barzun gave his condolences on social media.