The pilot of the F-15E fighter jet was rescued by rebel soldiers after ejecting from the aircraft, it is understood. Another crew member is also thought to have ejected.

The crashed plane was discovered by a Telegraph journalist reporting in and around Benghazi, the rebel-held city.

It is thought the F-15E fighter jet came to ground after suffering a mechanical failure.

The US military confirmed that one of its jets had crash landed. Vince Crawley, a spokesman for the U.S. military's Africa Command, said that one crewman had been recovered and one was "in process of recovery".

Crawley said the crash occurred "overnight." He declined to give the location of the crash and also would not say how the rescued crewman was picked up.