Former Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders dies after plane crash in Washington

Retired Major General William Anders, a former Apollo 8 astronaut, was killed on Friday, June 7, when the plane he was flying crashed into the sea off the San Juan Islands in Washington State. Anders was 90 years old.

His son Greg Anders confirmed the death to the Associated Press. The late astronaut is also known for taking the “Earthrise” image of the planet shadowed by space in 1968 during Apollo 8 – the first successful mission to take astronauts to the moon and back.

“The family is devastated,” said Greg. “He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.” He also confirmed the loss to The New York Times.

The FAA said in a statement to PEOPLE that there was only one pilot on board a Beechcraft T-34 Mentor aircraft that “crashed into the water near Roche Harbor, Washington, at approximately 11:40 a.m. local time on Friday, June 7.”

The U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest confirmed the incident on X (formerly Twitter), posting: “#BREAKING: @USCG units along with San Juan County Sheriffs are responding to reports of a plane crash between Orcas and Jones Island. Air Station Port Angeles and Station Port Angeles are on scene conducting search and rescue efforts. Updates to follow.”

PEOPLE has contacted the U.S. Coast Guard for comment.

The deceased astronaut had previously stated that the “Earthrise” image was his most significant contribution to the space program and also ensured that the command module and the service module of Apollo 8 worked.

Anders told Forbes In 2015 that the image “helped launch the environmental movement” and “the sight highlights the beauty of the Earth but also its fragility”.

“It’s strange to me that the press and the people on the ground have somehow forgotten our historic journey and the ‘Earthrise’ image has become symbolic of the flight today,” he added. “Here we travelled all the way to the moon to discover the earth.”

Anders was born in Hong Kong on October 17, 1933, but grew up in San Diego. At age 22, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website. Seven years later, in 1962, he received his Master of Science in nuclear engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Two years later, at age 31, he was selected by NASA as an astronaut with responsibilities for environmental control, radiation effects, and dosimetry. He also served as backup pilot for NASA’s ninth manned space mission, Gemini XI, as well as for Apollo 11, the first official moon landing in July 1969.

Most notably, he was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 8 in 1968. He co-led the Apollo 8 mission with Air Force veteran Frank F. Borman II and Navy veteran James A. Lovell, Jr. During this mission, their command module (Anders, Frank F. Borman II and James A. Lovell Jr.) hovered over the lunar surface, where he shot the iconic “Earthrise” image.

In a 1997 oral history interview with NASA, he stated that he believed it was important to participate in the mission for “national, patriotic and research reasons,” although he was convinced at the time that it was not without risk.

Shortly after his mission in 1969, he left NASA and the Air Force and became executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, an advisory body to the president, a position he held until 1973.

Later that year, he became the first chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, and ambassador to Norway. After leaving the public sector, he worked for General Electric and Textron and was chairman and CEO of General Dynamics.

Anders retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1988 as a major general and completed more than 6,000 flight hours during his career.

He is survived by his wife Valerie (Hoard) Anders, his sons Alan, Glen, Greg and Eric, and his daughters Gayle and Diana.

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