Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders, known for capturing the iconic "Earthrise" photograph, tragically passed away at the age of 90. Officials reported that the small plane he was piloting crashed into the water north of Seattle, Washington.
Anders' son, Greg, confirmed his father was flying the aircraft and that his body was recovered on Friday afternoon. "The family is devastated. He was a great pilot. He will be missed," the family stated.
As the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 8 mission, Anders took the famous Earthrise photograph. Captured on Christmas Eve during the 1968 mission, which was the first crewed spaceflight to leave Earth and reach the Moon, the image shows Earth rising above the lunar horizon. Anders later said it was his most significant contribution to the space program.
The Earthrise photo is credited with inspiring the global environmental movement and leading to the creation of Earth Day, an annual event promoting environmental awareness and activism. Reflecting on the moment, Anders remarked, "We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing that we discovered was the Earth."
Officials reported that Anders' plane crashed at around 11:40 PDT (1940 BST) on Friday. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identified the aircraft as a Beechcraft A45, also known as a T-34. The crash occurred approximately 80 feet (25 meters) from the coast of Jones Island.
Witness Philip Person said in Seattle that he saw the crash. He described the plane performing what appeared to be a loop before becoming inverted. "I could not believe what I was seeing in front of my eyes," Person told the local news station. "It looked like something right out of a movie or special effects, with the large explosion and flames and everything."
Footage allegedly capturing the crash shows the plane attempting to pull up at the last second before hitting the water and becoming a fiery wreck.
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