The former Apollo 8 astronaut, best known for taking the iconic “Earthrise” photo, who died last month while flying a plane over the waters of Washington state, was doing a flyby near a friend’s house when the accident occurred fatal, federal authorities said Tuesday.
William Anders, whose photo “Earthrise” showed the planet as a shaded blue marble seen from space in 1968, texted a friend that he planned to do a flyby near her home on the west coast of Orcas Island, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report.
The friend said Anders’ flybys were not uncommon, according to the NTSB. She said he typically did two flyovers, and although he sometimes shook the plane’s wings, “he never performed any type of aerobatic maneuver.”
At about 11:37 a.m. on June 7, the friend began hearing the “familiar” noise from his plane, the NTSB said. Shortly afterwards, she saw the older model Beech A45 traveling north along the coast in front of her house.
She briefly lost sight of the plane as it flew behind the trees. When she saw him return, she was heading south and flying over the water. After she passed, she saw his left wing fall off and thought it was part of his routine. But the wing continued to fall as the plane plummeted toward the water below.
At the same time, another witness on the same coast north of Anders’ friend’s house was using his phone to film the vintage plane passing by, the NTSB said. Throughout the video, the plane can be seen diving toward the water in a near-vertical dive before the tip of the right wing hits the water.
The friend and the person who recorded the video were the only two witnesses who came forward, the NTSB said.
The plane sank near the north end of Jones Island, which is off the west coast of Orcas Island, said San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter. The body of 90-year-old Anders was recovered that afternoon.
Most of the wreckage was recovered in the week following the crash and was stored for further examination, the agency said.
Anders’ “Earthrise” photograph, the first color image of Earth from space, is one of the most important photos in modern history for the way it changed the way humans viewed the planet. The photo is credited with sparking the global environmental movement by showing how delicate and isolated Earth looked from space.
Anders, a retired major general, said the photo was his most significant contribution to the space program, besides ensuring that Apollo 8’s command module and service module worked.
His son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders, told the Associated Press after his father’s death that the family was devastated.
“He was a great driver and we will miss him very much,” he said.
