American astronaut William Anders, a member of the Apollo 8 crew, died while piloting the plane that crashed off the coast of Washington on Friday, according to reports. He was 90 years old.
Anders’ old Air Force T-34 Mentor plane crashed off the coast of the San Juan Islands, according to flight data and FAA records. Obtained by FOX 13 Seattle.
Dramatic video shows the plane circling before plummeting into the sea, bursting into flames.
According to the US Coast Guard’s Pacific Northwest Division, the plane made an emergency landing between Orcas Island and Jones Island at about 11:45 a.m.
“The pilot was the only person on board,” the FAA told The Washington Post, but did not say whether he survived.
Search and rescue operations are underway at the crash site.
Anders took the iconic “Earthrise” photograph of Earth in December 1968 while aboard Apollo 8, the first lunar mission.
An Air Force veteran, he served in government for 26 years, including as executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council and as chief commissioner for all nuclear and non-nuclear power generation on the five-member Atomic Energy Commission.
