Subdeacon Joe Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic “Earthrise” photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90. His son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. A report came in around 11:40 a.m. that an older-model plane crashed into the water and sank near the north end of Jones Island, San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter said. Only the pilot was on board the Beech A45 airplane at the time, according to the Federal Aviation Association. William Anders said in an 1997 NASA oral history interview that he didn’t think the Apollo 8 mission was risk-free but there were important national, patriotic and exploration reasons for going ahead. He estimated there was about one in three chance that the crew wouldn’t make it back and the same chance the mission would be a success and the same chance that the mission wouldn’t start to begin with. He said he suspected Christopher Columbus sailed with worse odds. He recounted how earth looked fragile and seemingly physically insignificant, yet was home. “We’d been going backwards and upside down, didn’t really see the Earth or the Sun, and when we rolled around and came around and saw the first Earthrise,” he said. “That certainly was, by far, the most impressive thing. To see this very delicate, colorful orb which to me looked like a Christmas tree ornament coming up over this very stark, ugly lunar landscape really contrasted.” 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 One report said that Anders, age 90, failed to pull out of a loop before the plane struck the water. It is strangely ironic that some senior pilots, who have done a lot of really super missions, wind up crashing. Scott Crossfield, who should have known better, flew a light plane into a thunderstorm, and the plane came apart on him... Age a factor? Or just bad luck? As Ernest K. Gann wrote, "Run as fast as you can; there is no place to hide... Fate is the hunter!" Of course, there are worse ways to go... RIP, General Anders | | | Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted June 9 Author Share Posted June 9 2 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said: One report said that Anders, age 90, failed to pull out of a loop before the plane struck the water. It is strangely ironic that some senior pilots, who have done a lot of really super missions, wind up crashing. There's a film of it. It looks like he pulled up late. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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