William Anders, a retired Major General, Apollo 8 astronaut, and military pilot, died at age 90 in a plane crash while flying his vintage Beechcraft T-34A Mentor in Washington state.
Anders was a member of the Apollo 8 crew in 1968, becoming one of the first three people to orbit the Moon and capturing the iconic "Earthrise" photograph.
Beyond his NASA career, Anders was also the founder of the Heritage Flight Museum and held significant leadership roles in nuclear and aviation sectors.
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.
