Posted on 06/07/2024 8:38:15 PM PDT by Morgana
Retired American astronaut William Anders, who was part of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, has died after his small plane crashed into Puget Sound in Washington State.
The 90-year-old died after the small aircraft he was piloting crashed near Orcas Island on Friday, resulting in a fireball as the plane hit the water.
Officials with the United States Coast Guard Pacific Northwest said the crash happened just before 11:45am on Friday.
Video footage shot on the Sound shows the plane flying high in the sky before it plummets as it begins a dive.
Just before the plane began to level off, the aircraft hits the water at speed with not enough altitude for Anders to pull up safely, resulting in a huge splash and fireball.
His son Greg Anders, confirmed his death saying: 'The family is devastated. He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.'
The San Juan County Sheriff's Office detailed how the aircraft was an old model that had been flying from north to south when it crashed down into the water and sunk.
The plane that crashed was a vintage Air Force Beech T-34A Mentor that belonged to Anders who was a resident of San Juan County.
Station Bellingham, Air Station Port Angeles, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Coast Guard are responding with search and rescue efforts.
Anders' mission fifty six years ago on Christmas Eve 1968, came after a tumultuous year of assassinations, riots and war drew to a close in heroic and hopeful fashion with the three Apollo 8 astronauts reading from the Book of Genesis on live TV as they orbited the moon.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
RIP William Anders Over the Moon
Also here: https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4242946/posts
His aviation museum that his 2 sons also help to run:
https://heritageflight.org/about/maj-gen-bill-anders/
He went out in a blaze of glory. RIP
You got to admire anyone who is still flying at age 90. RIP Mr Anders.
“Better to burn out than fade away.”
RIP.
Some commenters on Daily Mail, who claim to also be longtime pilots, speculate that this 90 year old still able flyer decided to take himself out in this fashion: quick and firey, vs stick around in a nursing home, barely living.
He did make sure to fly alone, and with no other companion aircraft following his wake. We may never know.
One foot in the grave and one foot on the pedal.
(Some commenters on Daily Mail, who claim to also be longtime pilots, speculate that this 90 year old still able flyer decided to take himself out in this fashion)
I don’t think s. Looks like he was trying to pull the plane of the dive but it was too late.
Meant I don’t think so.
“Looks like he was trying to pull the plane of the dive”
I agree.
RIP William Anders.
I’d rather die doing something that I hated.
.
.
.
Then I wouldn’t have to do it anymore!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ0xo1NcHK0
Here is a video from 6 years ago, probably in the plane that crashed. Beautiful! He also took the “Earthrise” photo.
I wouldn’t get into a plane if it had a 90 year old pilot.
This just makes everyone in GA look bad. I find that people that own warbirds are some of the worst people on the planet and this is an entire family of warbird owners. Too bad that Anders chose this lifestyle of greed and ended it in such an embarrassing way.
One of the first men see the moon’s far side in person.
Woody Allen
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