Famous Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders, 90, dies in horror crash when his plane plunges into waters.

William Anders, an Apollo astronaut who took the iconic photo of Earth in 1968 while orbiting the Moon, died Friday at age 90 in a plane crash near the San Juan Islands.

Greg Anders, the astronaut's son, confirmed to the Associated Press that his father died in the accident.

“The family is devastated,” he said in a statement. “He was an excellent pilot. We will miss him.”

William Anders, who rose to the rank of major in the Air Force before the Apollo flight, was piloting the plane that crashed Friday, according to Fox 13 Seattle, citing social media posts from friends and family. the family of the former astronaut.

The plane, according to flight data and FAA records obtained by the news outlet, was a vintage Air Force T-34 Mentor owned by Anders, who lived in San Juan County.

Police and maritime officials responded to the scene of the accident.

It's unclear how many passengers were on board the plane, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.

Video of the crash shows a small plane heading directly toward the surface of the water near Orcas and Jones Islands, then skidding along the surface and exploding in a fireball. Witnesses told KING News the plane appeared to be performing a looping maneuver just before crashing, about 80 feet from Jones Island.

“But it was too low and… it didn't clear the water,” Philip Person, who saw the accident from a cabin on shore, told the media.

“I couldn’t believe what I saw before my eyes,” Person said. “It looked like something straight out of a movie or special effects. With the big explosion and flames and everything.

Personnel from the San Juan County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are responding to the accident, according to county officials.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the accident.

Anders was part of the Apollo 8 mission, which circled the Moon before returning to Earth.

The mission circled the Moon for 20 hours, the first time humans had entered lunar orbit.

“Earthrise” is one of the most famous photos in history and is believed to have helped inspire the growing environmental movement of the late 1960s.

Reflecting on the image in a 2015 interview, Anders said Forbes, “The view highlights the beauty of the Earth and its fragility. This helped launch the environmental movement.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former NASA astronaut, paid tribute to Anders in a job on X.

“Bill Anders forever changed our view of our planet and ourselves with his famous Earthrise photo on Apollo 8,” he wrote. “He inspired me and generations of astronauts and explorers. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

This is breaking news and will be updated with new information.