Mideast Libya
Libyan rebels stop on the road as mortars from Moammar Gadhafi's forces are fired on them on the frontline of the outskirts of the city of Ajdabiya, ...
Libyan rebels stop on the road as mortars from Moammar Gadhafi's forces are fired on them on the frontline of the outskirts of the city of Ajdabiya, south of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Coalition forces bombarded Libya for a third straight night, targeting the air defenses and forces of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, stopping his advances and handing some momentum back to the rebels, who were on the verge of defeat just last week. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Mideast Libya
Libyan rebels retreat as mortars from Moammar Gadhafi's forces are fired on them on the frontline of the outskirts of the city of Ajdabiya, south of ...
Libyan rebels retreat as mortars from Moammar Gadhafi's forces are fired on them on the frontline of the outskirts of the city of Ajdabiya, south of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Coalition forces bombarded Libya for a third straight night, targeting the air defenses and forces of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, stopping his advances and handing some momentum back to the rebels, who were on the verge of defeat just last week. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Mideast Libya
Libyan rebels try to take cover as mortars from Moammar Gadhafi's forces are fired on them on the frontline of the outskirts of the city of Ajdabiya,...
Libyan rebels try to take cover as mortars from Moammar Gadhafi's forces are fired on them on the frontline of the outskirts of the city of Ajdabiya, south of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Coalition forces bombarded Libya for a third straight night, targeting the air defenses and forces of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, stopping his advances and handing some momentum back to the rebels, who were on the verge of defeat just last week. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Mideast Tunisia Libya
A man from Ghana, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, carries his belongings as he arrive in a refugee camp after crossing ...
A man from Ghana, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, carries his belongings as he arrive in a refugee camp after crossing from Libya at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Italy Libya US Jet
Women run as two F-15 jet fighters are seen in background, at the NATO airbase of Aviano, Italy, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Moammar Gadhafi's forces sh...
Women run as two F-15 jet fighters are seen in background, at the NATO airbase of Aviano, Italy, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Moammar Gadhafi's forces shelled rebels regrouping outside a strategic eastern city on Tuesday and his snipers and tanks controlled the streets of the last opposition-held city in the west, signaling a prolonged battle ahead. An American fighter jet crashed over North African country, both crew ejecting safely. The U.S. Africa Command said both crewmembers were safe after what was believed to be a mechanical failure of the Air Force F-15. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Mideast Tunisia Libya
A man from Ghana, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, carries his belongings as he arrives in a refugee camp after crossing...
A man from Ghana, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, carries his belongings as he arrives in a refugee camp after crossing from Libya at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Mideast Libya
Libyans inspect the wreckage of a US F15 fighter jet after it crashed in an open field in the village of Bu Mariem, east of Benghazi, eastern Libya...
Libyans inspect the wreckage of a US F15 fighter jet after it crashed in an open field in the village of Bu Mariem, east of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Tuesday, March 22, 2011, with both crew ejecting safely. The U.S. Africa Command said both crew members were safe after what was believed to be a mechanical failure of the Air Force F-15. The aircraft, based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, was flying out of Italy's Aviano Air Base in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn.(AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Mideast Libya
Libyans pose with the wreckage of a US F15 fighter jet, after it crashed in an open field in the village of Bu Mariem, east of Benghazi, eastern Li...
Libyans pose with the wreckage of a US F15 fighter jet, after it crashed in an open field in the village of Bu Mariem, east of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Tuesday, March 22, 2011, with both crew ejecting safely. The U.S. Africa Command said both crew members were safe after what was believed to be a mechanical failure of the Air Force F-15. The aircraft, based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, was flying out of Italy's Aviano Air Base in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn.(AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Libyan villagers who saw the crash of a U.S. warplane say the fighter jet was spinning as it came down into a field.
The plane's body is mostly burned to ash, with only the wings and tail fins intact. U.S. officials say the two-man crew ejected and both were safe in American hands.
The F-15E Strike Eagle jet was conducting a mission Monday night against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses when it crashed at 2130 GMT (5:30 p.m. EDT), said Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Africa Command. It came down near Bu Mariem, about 24 miles (38 kilometers) east of Benghazi.
"I saw the plane spinning round and round as it came down," said Mahdi Amrani, who rushed to the scene with other villagers.
