Coast Guard divers searching for a missing American F-16 and its pilot were yesterday focusing on waters where a fishing boat found debris believed to belong to the jet, a Coast Guard official said.

The debris, including fragments of carbon steel, was found floating in the northern Adriatic overnight, Rear Admiral Francesco Saverio Ferrara said. The US Air Force said in a statement yesterday it was thought to be wreckage from the missing aircraft.

“The missing jet took off from Aviano Air Base on a training exercise on Monday evening, and the control tower lost contact with the plane at about 1900 GMT.

Search-and-rescue operations are being conducted by sea from the port of Ravenna, and Air Force planes from Aviano are spearheading the search from above, Ferrara said. Snow and rain hampered the operation overnight, and yesterday fog was hampering visibility, the Coast Guard said.

Aviano is the base for the US Air Force’s 31st Fighter Wing. The Air Force said a board of officers would investigate the incident.

“Wing leadership remains hopeful that we will safely rescue our pilot,” an Air Force statement said.

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