One of four passengers on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket, who made a brief trip to space in October, was killed in a small passenger plane crash near New York on Thursday, New Jersey police said on Friday.
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Glen de Vries, a 49-year-old New York entrepreneur, died alongside fellow American Thomas P. Fisher in their "little plane crash" Thursday afternoon in Sussex County, WI. State of New Jersey.
A New Jersey Police spokesperson said the investigation was left to the US Federal Civil Aviation Regulator (FAA).
Blue Origin "devastated by the sudden death" of the entrepreneur
Born in 1972, Glen de Vries was the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, a company specializing in clinical trial monitoring software for the pharmaceutical industry.
The Blue Origin company said on Twitter “devastated by the sudden death” of the entrepreneur, who “brought so much energy and life to the entire Blue Origin team and his teammates”.
We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries.
He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates.
His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired.
pic.twitter.com/1hwnjntTVs
- Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 12, 2021
Along with three other passengers, including William Shatner, 90, a Canadian actor who played Captain Kirk from the "Star Trek" series, aviation enthusiast Glen de Vries briefly flew into space on October 13 in board of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket owned by American billionaire Jeff Bezos.