Bill Anders: Nasa ‘Earthrise’ astronaut dies at 90 in plane crash

The image is widely credited with motivating the global environmental movement and leading to the creation of Earth Day, an annual event to promote activism and awareness of caring for the planet.

Speaking of the moment, Anders said: “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing that we discovered was the Earth.”

Officials said on Friday that Anders crashed his plane around 11:40PDT (1940BST).

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the 90-year-old was flying a Beechcraft A A 45 – also known as a T-34. The agency said that the plane crashed about 80ft (25m) from the coast of Jones Island.

Witness Philip Person told King-TV, external in Seattle that he saw the crash.

The plane began doing what appeared to be a loop and became inverted, he told the network.

“I could not believe what I was seeing in front of my eyes,” Person told the local news station. “It looked like something right out of a movie or special effects. With the large explosion and flames and everything.”

Footage that allegedly captured the plane crash appears to show an effort to pull up at the last second, before its the surface of the water and becomes a fiery wreck.

BBC News has not verified the video.