Retired American astronaut William Anders, who was part of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, has died after his small plane crashed into Puget Sound in Washington State.
The 90-year-old died after the small aircraft he was piloting crashed near Orcas Island on Friday, resulting in a fireball as the plane hit the water.
Officials with the United States Coast Guard Pacific Northwest said the crash happened just before 11:45am on Friday.
Video footage shot on the Sound shows the plane flying high in the sky before it plummets as it begins a dive.
Just before the plane began to level off, the aircraft hits the water at speed with not enough altitude for Anders to pull up safely, resulting in a huge splash and fireball.
His son Greg Anders, confirmed his death saying: ‘The family is devastated. He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.’
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office detailed how the aircraft was an old model that had been flying from north to south when it crashed down into the water and sunk.
The plane that crashed was a vintage Air Force Beech T-34A Mentor that