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Retired astronaut with ties to Bellingham killed in San Juan Islands plane crash

By The Bellingham Herald
Bill Anders, a former Apollo 8 astronaut and president of the Heritage of Flight Museum, buckles in for a flight above the Bellingham International Airport during an air show in 2002.
Bill Anders, a former Apollo 8 astronaut and president of the Heritage of Flight Museum, buckles in for a flight above the Bellingham International Airport during an air show in 2002. File The Bellingham Herald

Former astronaut Retired Maj. Gen. William “Bill” Anders, an Air Force pilot with connections to Bellingham, died in a plane crash in the waters around the San Juan Islands on Friday at age 90. His son, Greg Anders, of Bellingham, confirmed his father’s death to The Associated Press.

Bill Anders is widely known for taking the iconic “Earthrise” photo on Christmas Eve as a member of NASA’s Apollo 8 mission in 1968.

Earth rises above the lunar horizon as Apollo 8 completes an orbit of the moon on Dec. 24, 1968. Astronaut William A. Anders, an Air Force pilot with connections to Bellingham, snapped the photo that has become one of the most memorable images of all time.
Earth rises above the lunar horizon as Apollo 8 completes an orbit of the moon on Dec. 24, 1968. Astronaut William A. Anders, an Air Force pilot with connections to Bellingham, snapped the photo that has become one of the most memorable images of all time. William A. Anders, NASA Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald

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 told the AP. Only the pilot was on board the Beech A45 airplane at the time, according to the Federal Aviation Association.

Astronaut William A. Anders, who was the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 mission, is shown inside the spacecraft during lunar orbit in December 1968.
Astronaut William A. Anders, who was the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 mission, is shown inside the spacecraft during lunar orbit in December 1968. NASA Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald

Anders was also the backup pilot for Gemini 11 and backup command module pilot for Apollo 11, the first lunar landing, according to The Bellingham Herald archives.

After leaving NASA, he founded the Heritage Flight Museum at Bellingham International Airport in 1996 with several vintage planes and has hosted several visits from famed World War II bombers. The museum was moved to Skagit Regional Airport in 2013.

This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 6:45 PM.

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