©Getty

The pilot was taking part in a major training exercise

An RAF fighter jet has been damaged after it landed without the wheels coming down.

The new £69 million Typhoon was crash-landed during training in the US.

It is thought the pilot may have forgotten to deploy the undercarriage, with a source telling a national newspaper: "Everything points to the pilot forgetting to lower the wheels, which does happen from time to time."

However, the Ministry of Defence stressed RAF investigators had not yet come to any conclusion about why the incident happened.

A spokesman said: "The damage to the aircraft is still to be fully assessed and as a Board of Inquiry has been convened it would not be appropriate to comment further until the investigation is complete."

Like almost all modern aircraft, the Typhoon is fitted with an alert system to ensure the plane is not landed without its undercarriage.

The voice alert system tells the pilot that the undercarriage must come down if it has not been deployed.

The pilot, from 17 Squadron, was taking part in a major training exercise at China Lake air base in California in the last week when the incident took place.

The plane, which is capable of flying at more than twice the speed of sound, landed on its belly at about 130mph.

It will now be shipped back to Britain to be assessed. The MoD spokesman said it was likely the jet could be repaired.

He stressed there was nothing from the incident that highlighted a problem with the Typhoon fleet at large.

He said: "There is no evidence at present to suggest that the airworthiness of the aircraft has been compromised and the aircraft therefore remains safe to fly."

The spokesman added: "We are pleased to say that neither the pilot nor anyone else was injured in this incident."

The aircraft is part of a 49-strong fleet of Typhoons based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

They have been defending UK air space, as part of their defensive role, since last June.

Members of 17 Squadron were in California developing the new jet's offensive capabilities, testing precision laser guided air-to-surface bombs in the American desert.

The plane, developed from the costly Eurofighter programme with Germany, Italy and Spain, has yet to be declared operational by the RAF in an offensive, ground attack role.

After it is, a number of them could be sent to Iraq and Afghanistan to replace older Tornados and Harriers.