Missing US jet feared to have crashed

Controllers lost contact with F-16 around 8 p.m. Monday

Author: By CNN Staff
Published: Jan 29 2013 04:21:26 PM EST   Updated On: Jan 29 2013 04:33:25 PM EST
F-16 at airshow
(CNN) -

Italian search teams have found debris thought to belong to a U.S. fighter jet that went missing, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

Controllers lost contact with the F-16 around 8 p.m. Monday (2 p.m. ET) while the jet was on a training flight, the U.S. Air Force reported

The jet's last known location was over the Adriatic Sea, some 10-15 nautical miles east of Cervia.

Search teams have found no sign of the pilot, though they're continuing the search, officials said.

The jet was based at Aviano Air Base, a key NATO installation in northern Italy.