William Anders, former Apollo 8 astronaut, died in plane crash at age 90 – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio

Former Apollo 8 astronaut and retired Major General William Anders died on Friday in a plane crash near San Juan Island in Washington. He was 90 years old.

Greg Anders, William Anders’ son, confirmed the news of his death to the Associated Press.

“The family is devastated,” Greg Anders said, according to AP. “He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.”

According to AP, a report came in shortly after 11:30 a.m. Friday that a plane had crashed into the water at the northern end of Jones Island, said San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter. The Federal Aviation Association said only the pilot was in the plane at the time of the crash. The plane was a Beech A45.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the crash.

William Anders was known for his “Earthrise” photo from lunar orbit and became one of the most famous images of the 20th century, Bloomberg reported. The photo was taken during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, the New York Times reported.

The photo was reproduced on a 1969 postage stamp with the inscription “In the beginning God created…”, the newspaper reported.

He was part of the first group of men to leave Earth’s orbit, along with Col. Frank Borman and Captain James Lovell Jr., the Times reported.

He was born in Hong Kong on October 17, 1933, the Times reported.

William Anders received his pilot’s license in 1956 and then earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, the newspaper reported. About a year later, he was accepted into NASA’s third class of astronauts.

He retired from NASA and the Air Force in 1969. He then took a position as executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, an advisory unit to the president. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1988, according to the Times.

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