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Plane crash: Astronaut Killed
Federal authorities confirmed on Tuesday that the deceased astronaut, who was best known for capturing the famous “Earthrise” shot and was a former Apollo 8 astronaut, died last month while flying a plane over the waters off the coast of Washington state. The astronaut was flying by a friend’s house when the deadly accident occurred.
The National Transportation Safety Board stated in its preliminary report that William Anders, whose 1968 “Earthrise” photograph depicted the earth as a shadowy blue marble from space, had texted a friend that he intended to fly by close to her home on Orcas Island’s western side.
The friend said that the NTSB had confirmed Anders’ flybys as normal. She stated that he usually performed two flybys, and although he occasionally shook the aircraft’s wings,
“he never performed any kind of aerobatic maneuver.”
According to the NTSB, the friend heard his airplane’s “familiar” noise around 11:37 a.m. on June 7. Not long afterward, she noticed the older Beech A45 aircraft flying overhead, heading north down the shore in front of her home.
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The plane soared behind some trees, and for a moment she lost sight of it. It was soaring over the lake and heading south when she saw it return to sight. She watched the left wing drop after it went by and assumed it was just part of his routine. However, the wing kept falling as the aircraft fell towards the lake below.
The NTSB noted that at the same moment, a second witness was filming the vintage airplane flying by on his phone on the same stretch of coastline to the north of Anders’ friend’s house. The plane can be seen diving nearly vertically toward the sea throughout the footage, and then its right wingtip hits the water.
According to the NTSB, just two witnesses came forward: the friend and the individual who filmed the video.
According to San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter, the plane sank close to the north end of Jones Island, which is located off the western edge of Orcas Island. That afternoon, Anders’s 90-year-old body was found.
According to the organization, the majority of the wreckage was found in the week that followed the collision and has since been preserved for additional analysis.
One of the most significant images in modern history, “Earthrise” by Anders, captured the first color image of Earth from space and altered the way that people see the globe. The image is recognized for having ignited the worldwide environmental movement because it captured how vulnerable and alone Earth seemed from orbit.
A retired major general, Anders claims that this picture, together with ensuring the functionality of the Apollo 8 command module and service module, was his greatest contribution to the space program.
Following his father’s passing, his son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders, told The Associated Press that the family was inconsolable.
He stated, “We will miss him terribly. He was a great pilot.”
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