A retired American astronaut was on a stationary jet ski with his 22-year-old son yesterday afternoon when his 26-year-old son crashed into them with another one, killing the man.
Captain Alan G Poindexter was pulled from the water around 1:30pm at Little Sabine Bay, Pensacola Beach in Florida where friends performed CPR. The married father was taken to Baptist hospital but died a short time later, said a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission official.
His son Samuel, 22, who was riding with him, and brother 26-year-old Zachary Poindexter were not injured.
Poindexter, known was 'Dex', piloted the Atlantis space shuttle in 2008.
On their Facebook page, NASA wrote: 'The NASA family was sad to learn of the passing of our former friend, and colleague Alan Poindexter who was killed today during a jet ski accident in Florida.
'Our thought and hearts are with his family.'
Captain Alan G Poindexter, known affectionately to colleagues as 'Dex', was a decorated naval officer and space shuttle pilot. The married, father-of-two gained a masters of science in aeronautical engineering before serving as a naval pilot from 1988.
He made two deployments to the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch. He was selected for NASA in 1998, rising to commander of shuttle Discovery in 2010.
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