BREAKING NEWS William Anders dies in plane crash: Apollo 8 astronaut, 90, named as pilot killed in Washington fireball smash Ret. American astronaut William Anders, 90, died when his small plane crashed Crash resulted in a fireball as the plane hit the water on Puget Sound on Friday Anders famously took a photograph of Earth from the Moon during Apollo 8 By James Gordon For Dailymail.com Published: 19:52 EDT, 7 June 2024 | Updated: 20:40 EDT, 7 June 2024 e-mail 43 shares 82 View comments 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. Former astronaut, William Anders, 90, who had been part of the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968, has been killed after crashing his small plane into Puget Sound near Orcas Island in Washington State on Friday Portrait of the crew of NASA's Apollo 8, Florida, December 1968. Pictured are, from left, command module pilot James.