Former Apollo 8 astronaut dies in plane crash near Seattle

Former Apollo 8 astronaut dies in plane crash near Seattle
Former Apollo 8 astronaut dies in plane crash near Seattle

We show you our most important and recent visitors news details Former Apollo 8 astronaut dies in plane crash near Seattle in the following article

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - SEATTLE — Former Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders died in a plane crash near Seattle late Friday at the age of 90, according to media reports.

Anders' death was confirmed by his son, Gregory Anders, who told CNN his "dad passed in an aircraft incident in the San Juan Islands," in Washington state, CNN reported.

"The family is devastated and grieving the loss of a great pilot," Gregory Anders said.

The incident occurred off the coast of Jones Island, according to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, said CNN.

The dispatch center received a report around 11:40 a.m. (1840 GMT) about the older model plane flying southward before it went down into the water near the north end of Jones Island and sank, the office added.

The US Coast Guard also announced that it conducted a search spanning 215 nautical miles (398 kilometers), ultimately recovering the pilot’s body with the help of a dive team.

William Anders was born on Oct. 17, 1933, in Hong Kong, graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1955, where he earned his pilot's wings the following year after being commissioned in the US Air Force.

He served as a fighter pilot in California and Iceland and managed nuclear power reactor shielding and radiation effects programs at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in New Mexico, according to NASA.

Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1964, Anders was a backup pilot for the Gemini 11 mission and the Apollo 11 flight, logging over 6,000 hours of flying time.

In December 1968, he orbited the moon aboard the Apollo 8 mission with Jim Lovell and Frank Borman, capturing the iconic "Earthrise" photo, which he described as a pivotal moment in human history. "We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth," he had said.

Beyond his space missions, Anders served as executive secretary for the National Aeronautics and Space Council in 1969-1973 and was appointed the first chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by President Gerald Ford. — Agencies


These were the details of the news Former Apollo 8 astronaut dies in plane crash near Seattle for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.

It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Saudi Gazette and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.

PREV Job losses mount for Muslims in India after controversial name display rules
NEXT What to expect from Nato’s new chief Mark Rutte? Don’t expect a revolution, just steady leadership in turbulent times

Author Information

I have been an independent financial adviser for over 11 years in the city and in recent years turned my experience in finance and passion for journalism into a full time role. I perform analysis of Companies and publicize valuable information for shareholder community. Address: 2077 Sharon Lane Mishawaka, IN 46544, USA Phone: (+1) 574-255-1083 Email: [email protected]