Bill Anders Crash 7 June 2024

Theme: "Weightless" Aram Bedrosian

[jake_]

William Anders did not die in his bed. He lived his life to the full, achieved what very few did. At 90 years old he was performing aerobatic manoeuvres. Very few men like him have walked the Earth.

[Bill_N_ATX]

Well, he was an old pilot so he must have been careful for much of his life. He had over 8000 hours and a trip around the moon on his log books so if anything he knew better. But, it might have been one of those things he’d gotten away with many times before till that one time he just didn’t.

Without regard, he was an amazing man. Annapolis graduate but joined the Air Force. Trained electrical and nuclear engineer. Astronaut, businessman for GE, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Major General in the Air Force Reserves, and Ambassador to Norway. Left a wife of 69 years, six children, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Can’t say he didn’t lead a full life.

[Gus_R]

RIP Bill Anders. He took the famous pic that was known as "Earth Rise" from the Apollo 8 command module which had a big impact on humanity. I saw him fly his P-51 over 15 years ago.

[raybame]

Juan, please don't let some of these comments get under your skin. The point is a really great guy and person whose done EVERYTHING, died doing something he loved dearly. I'm 80 and can tell u 10 more years goes by so quickly - blink of an eye. "He reached out on silvered wings, and touched the hand of God". RIP Gen'l Anders.

[akerlie]

I had the honour of having Mr. Anders joining me on a helicopter flight in Iceland a few years ago. An amazing personality, a true gentleman. Godspeed Mr. Anders

[adrianklaver]

His plane collection used to be here(Bellingham, WA) at BLI until the Port of Bellingham pushed it out and he ended up one county south at the Skagit Regional Airport. They put on a air show every summer and I used to go with my Dad so he could see some of the planes that flew over him when he was a kid in occupied Netherlands. It was low key event where you got to talk with the pilots including Bill Anders. He was fun to talk with, he will be missed.

[blancolirio]

Note: I missed pronounced Skagit...if that's all you got out of this video YOU ARE ON THE WRONG CHANNEL- try cnn.

[michaelclements]

I love the phrase "2 mistakes high". I started using it flying R/C airplanes and still use it today.

[wdhewson]

Anders took the world's most famous image, "Earthrise"

[georgespalding]

Bill Anders lived an incredibly full life. His life was a veritable who's who of a combination of military discipline, engineering and leadership skills and versatile career in the Air Force. Anders was one of the first three men to leave the bounds of earth and venture to orbit the Moon. Maybe it's fitting that his final moments were in a flying machine. RIP.

[austinmccombs]

Juan, thanks for covering this incident. I live in Skagit County and have seen Bill fly this, and other aircraft, on numerous Fly Days that the Skagit Heritage Flight Museum puts on. They have lots of Apollo 8 memorabilia, but the best Apollo 8 memorabilia was always Bill, being there, flying and sharing his stories. His presence will be sorely missed. Prayers and well wishes with the Anders family and Heritage Flight Museum extended family in this awful time.

[stevewallace]

I spoke with his son, a former F-15 pilot, at the 2023 Abbortsford after he flew the P-51 Valhalla. The Anders family and the Flight Museum added so much to the Burlington Regional Airport. The museum has a tribute section devoted to the Apollo 11 flight.

[eartha]

My dad's last airplane was a T-34B that he bought from the Kentucky Civil Air Patrol in about 1983. He restored it to Navy livery, and did many airshows. I loved taking trips and doing aerobatics in that rear seat. They took his license due to a recurring cancer about a decade ago. He was a retired veterinarian, so I used to tease him about how technically, he was a doctor in a Bonanza. God Speed, Mr Anders. Tell Papa hello.

[MikeKobb]

Very sad. RIP to a hero of our time. Not speculating about this accident specifically, but my dad always agreed with you on altitude for acro. He would fly anything at 6, 000 or above, and taught me to do the same.

[patrickkenney]

Godspeed Bill Anders. Colonel Borman was a friend of mine and he also had an immaculate T-34 that was an Oshkosh winner. Frank sold the T-34 when he couldn't climb in it anymore and bought a beautiful Cardinal with a full glass panel-he quit flying at 93. The word Earth was never capitalized until Anders took the Earthrise photo. Their legacies are National Treasures.

[jeffr]

I feel better about a 90 year old former test pilot/astronaut flying aerobatics than I do about a 16 y/o driving 75 mph on the interstate next to me. That being said, this was a very sad ending to an illustrious flying career.

[cal-native]

My ex's son would refuel Bill's P-51 Valhalla at Ramona airport in the nineties. They struck up quite a friendship, and Bill would give him rides in his Mustang. Apparently one of Bill's walls at his residence was completely covered with the "Earth Rising" photo. He was a great guy. RIP.

[briangarrow]

Rest in peace. This man was a real American hero and gave us the better part of his career to helping us understand space. He lived 3 lives in his years here. Sincere condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed by many.

[AndersMcA]

I met Bill's son Greg at Seafair in 2022. I refueled Valhalla, the P-51, after it returned from the performing in the show. The first time I'd met another Anders (even if just a last name) out there in the world. I remember he mentioned something about his dad, so I did some googling. After that meeting, it led me down the rabbit hole learning about Bill Anders, making the Earthrise connection, and putting the heritage museum up at Skagit on my to-do list.

Quite surreal when I saw the news and video of this crash. Even moreso when I learned it was Bill. This just adds to a tragic few weeks for aviation in the PNW, with each crash seemingly hitting closer and closer to home. Rest in Peace, Bill.

[dmh]

RIP Maj. Gen. William Anders. The "Earthrise" photo is my favorite photo of all-time. Thank you.