Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders died on Friday when his plane burst into flames over Washington’s Puget Sound in a tragic incident that was captured on video. Anders was 90 years old.
At the time of the crash, Anders was flying a vintage Beechcraft T-34 Mentor, a single-engine propeller aircraft primarily used for Already used It was used for flight training by the United States Air Force and Navy in the 1950s.
Video taken by Philip Persson shows Anders’ plane suddenly falling out of the sky and crashing into Puget Sound just 80 feet off the shore of Jones Island.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Parson said. Said“It went into a barrel roll, kind of a loop, and flipped over.”
“The aircraft attempted to surface before hitting the water, but was too low when it began the loop to clear the water,” he said of the plane’s crash. “It initially appeared to catch on the wing, then crashed hard, burst into flames and broke into pieces, quickly submerging in the water.”
“A Beechcraft T-34 Mentor crashed near Roche Harbor, Washington, at approximately 11:40 a.m. local time on Friday, June 7. The pilot was the only person on board the aircraft,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened an investigation into the fatal plane crash. The plane was recovered from the ocean and will be examined by the NTSB at an off-site facility, where investigators will review tracking data, air traffic control communication records, and the pilot’s flight experience.
You can watch video of the fatal crash here here.
Anders’ son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders, confirmed his father’s sudden death: Associated Press“The family is heartbroken. He was a fantastic pilot and we will miss him dearly.”
NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson Said Of the famous astronaut, he said, “In 1968, during the flight of Apollo 8, Bill Anders gave mankind one of the most profound gifts an astronaut can give. He traveled to the very edge of the moon and gave us all a glimpse into another part of ourselves. He embodied the lessons and purpose of exploration. We will miss him.”
Anders was part of the Apollo 8 team, the first manned mission to orbit the Moon. Anders was the Lunar Module Pilot, Frank Borman was the Commander, and James Lovell was the Command Module Pilot.
Anders took the iconic “Earthrise” photograph on December 24, 1968, capturing the moment Earth rose above the lunar horizon.
CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
During the mission’s Christmas Eve broadcast, Anders and his crew read from the Book of Genesis.
Now, the moon’s sunrise is approaching, and to all people here on Earth, we have a message from the crew of Apollo 8: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.”
Lovell is the last surviving member of the original Apollo 8 crew.
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Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Message 1968Youtube
