Five US Air Force jets could remain stationed at a Moray airbase for days after a crash which left a pilot dead.
Six Marine Corps FA-18 Hornets had been returning to California following missions in the Middle East when one of the fighters plummeted into a field in Cambridgeshire.
The five other pilots were then diverted 400 miles to RAF Lossiemouth.
Last night a US military spokeswoman said she could not release any information about why the pilots were forced to detour to Moray, or how long the jets may be stationed in the north-east.
The five Hornets continued to occupy a runway to the north end of the Moray base yesterday, although it is understood their pilots were flown to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on Wednesday night.
As winds across the region reached gale force, a row fuel carriers were arranged around the aircraft to protect them from the powerful blasts.
The tragedy unfolded at 10.30am on Wednesday morning, when one of the “Red Devils” crashed near the Suffolk-Cambridge border.
Witnesses said the pilot, who was yesterday named as Major Taj Sareen, did well to avoid striking residential homes as his jet plunged to the ground.
The planes had taken off from RAF Lakenheath a short time earlier.
A spokesman for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch confirmed that US authorities would lead the probe into the crash, but that UK officials would offer any assistance required.
An RAF Lossiemouth spokesman said the base was not permitted to discuss the operations of visiting foreign aircraft.
Grief-stricken fellow members of the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 touched down at RAF Lossiemouth around 1.30pm on Wednesday, and were seen exchanging hugs as they tried to console one another.
One amateur aviation expert, who had kept vigil at the airfield following the Hornets’ arrival, said he observed the devastated American pilots take off on a tanker jet on Wednesday evening.
The man said: “I saw the men leave quite late on Wednesday, with all their baggage.
“I would think their jets will remain here until checks have been made to ensure they are safe to be flown, it could take until the crash investigation has finished.”