American astronaut William Anders — who was a member of the Apollo 8 crew — was killed while piloting a plane that crashed off the Washington coast Friday, according to a report. He was 90.
“The family is devastated,” the trailblazer’s son, Greg Anders, said. “He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.”
The plane, a vintage Air Force T-34 Mentor owned by Anders, went down into the waters off the San Juan Islands, according to flight data and FAA records obtained by FOX 13 Seattle.
Dramatic video shows the plane completing a loop before nosediving into the ocean in a fiery blaze.
The plane crash-landed around 11:45 a.m. between Orcas Island and Jones Island, according to the United States Coast Guard Pacific Northwest.
Retired American astronaut William Anders, who was a member of the Apollo 8 crew, has been identified as the pilot inside the plane that crashed in the waters off the San Juan Islands on Friday afternoon. FOX 13
William Anders was 90 years old. NASAThe FAA told The Post that “only the pilot was on board.”
Anders’ body was recovered about six hours after the tragic crash, his son told KING 5 News.
“In 1968, during Apollo 8, Bill Anders offered to humanity among the deepest of gifts an astronaut can give. He traveled to the threshold of the Moon and helped all of us see something else: ourselves. He embodied the lessons and the purpose of exploration. We will miss him,” Bill Nelson, 14th NASA Administrator, said on X.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, who is also a retired NASA astronaut, mourned Anders’ loss, saying he, “forever changed our perspective of our planet and ourselves with his famous Earthrise photo on Apollo 8. He inspired me and generations of astronauts and explorers. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
The iconic 1968 “Earthrise” photo of the Earth while on the Apollo mission snapped by Anders. FOX 13
William Anders spent 26 years working for the government. NASAAnders snapped the iconic 1968 “Earthrise” photo of the Earth in December 1968 while on Apollo 8, the first lunar orbit mission.
He previously said the photo — the first colored image of Earth from space — was his most significant contribution to the space program, given the ecological philosophical impact it had, along with making sure the Apollo 8 command module and service module worked.
William Anders poses with the Apollo 8 crew consisting of Commander Fran Norman (left) and Command Module Pilot James Lovell (right). NASAThe Air Force veteran spent 26 years working for the government, including as the executive secretary for the National Aeronautics and Space Council and as the lead commissioner for all nuclear and non-nuclear power for the five-member Atomic Energy Commission.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Anders has lived on Orcas Island with his wife, Valerie, since 1993.
With Post wires
