Glen de Vries, US tycoon who journeyed to space on Blue Origin flight, dies in plane crash

The rich business tycoon, Glen de Vries who traveled to space last month with the Blue Origin company of Jeff Bezos, passed away in a minor plane crash. According to New Jersey State Police, the 49 years old Vries who journeyed with William Shatner, died in the crash along with another individual who was boarded in the plane. The state police revealed that the accident took place in the northern part of New Jersey, the Guardian reported.  

Glen de Vries, who is a New York City native, and 54 years old Thomas Fischer of Hopatcong, New Jersey, were boarded on a 'Cessna 172' which is a single-engine plane that crashed in a rural area of Hampton Township on Thursday. As per CBS News, the tragic air crash incident took place approximately around 3 p.m. State police have also informed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the reason behind the crash. 

Blue Origin expressed grief on the death of Glen de Vries

Furthermore, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin has expressed condolence and said in a statement, “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.” 

Glen de Vries was a trustee at Carnegie Mellon University and was the founder of Medidata Solutions, a technology firm. He flew to orbit on Blue Origin's New Shepard spaceship on October 13th and spent over 10 minutes in outer space alongside William Shatner, Chris Boshuizen and Audrey Powers. De Vries, who used to work as a private pilot in his spare time, studied molecular biology and was the vice-chair at French software company Dassault Systèmes. 

As per CBS News, a spokesperson from Dassault Systèmes stated in a statement on Friday, “Our thoughts and support go out to Glen's family, our deepest sympathy also goes out to our MEDIDATA team, which Glen co-founded.” The statement further talks about his boundless energy, sensitivity, and pioneering spirit which has made an indelible impression on everyone whom he met. “We will truly miss Glen, but his dreams — which we share — live on: we will pursue progress in life sciences & healthcare as passionately as he did," the statement concluded.  

Furthermore, 54 years old Thomas Fischer was the owner and lead teacher of Fischer Aviation which is a flight school run by the Fischer family members, as per public records.  

(Image: AP)