Apollo 8 Mission astronaut William Anders died at 90-years-old in a plane crash Friday afternoon, according to multiple reports.
The 90-year-old former astronaut was reportedly piloting a vintage Air Force T-34 Mentor before crashing just off the San Juan Islands in Washington state, according to Fox13 Seattle. Anders’s son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders, confirmed the death to the Associated Press News on Friday. (RELATED: ‘Sopranos’ Star Reveals ‘Unexpected’ Death Of Her Mother: REPORT)
“The family is devastated,” Greg Anders told the outlet. “He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.”
Portrait of the crew of NASA’s Apollo 8, Florida, December 1968. Pictured are, from left, command module pilot James Lovell, lunar module pilot William Anders, and Commander Frank Borman. (Photo by NASA/Interim Archives/Getty Images)
Authorities stated that the sheriff’s dispatch center received a report around 11:40 a.m., stating that an “older model plane was flying from north to south then went into the water near the north end of Jones Island and sunk,” CNN reported. In an email to the outlet, San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter stated the only update available on the issue was that “the dive team arrived on scene and are currently conducting their search.”
In 1968, Anders captured the iconic “Earthrise” photo from space, which shows the planet shadowed. During his iconic mission, Anders operated alongside Air Force veteran Frank F. Borman II and Navy veteran James A. Lovell, Jr.
In total within the Apollo 8 Mission, Anders logged more than 6,000 hours of flying time, as his team floated in space, sending back images of the moon and Earth, according to FOX13 Seattle. By 1988, Anders later retired from the Air Force Reserves, becoming the chairman and CEO of General Dynamics Corporation for three years.
After tying the knot with his wife, Valerie, in 1955, the two shared six children and 13 grandchildren.