Retired Major General William Anders, Apollo 8 astronaut and pilot famous for capturing the iconic "Earthrise" photo, died at age 90 in a plane crash.
Anders was killed while flying his vintage Beechcraft T-34A Mentor solo near Harbor Airport, Washington, with the accident currently under investigation.
Beyond his historic Apollo 8 mission, Anders had a distinguished career as a military pilot, held leadership roles in government and aerospace corporations, and founded the Heritage Flight Museum.
Retired Major General William Anders, military pilot, Apollo-era NASA astronaut, and founder of the Heritage Flight Museum in Washington state was killed Friday while flying his Beechcraft T-34A Mentor. He was 90.
In a statement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson remembered Anders as the embodiment of the lessons and purpose of exploration.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
