The businessman who flew into space last month William Shatner rode on blue original Police said Rocket died on Thursday in a minor plane crash.
Glen de Vries, co-founder of Medidata Solutions, was taking flying lessons with Thomas Fisher, 54, of Fisher Aviation, when their plane crashed in Sussex County. new Jersey 3 pm
The New Jersey State Police Department said both people died in the accident.
The cause of the crash is unknown and it is also not clear who was piloting the plane when it crashed.
De Vries died a month after paying the board Jeff BezosBlue Origin Rocket Shatner with Australian entrepreneur Chris Boshuizen and Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers.
He described the experience as a ‘dream come true’.
Blue Origin tweeted, “Shocked to hear of the sudden demise of Glenn De Vries. He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and their fellow teammates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work and dedication to his craft will be respected and admired for a long time.’
Glen de Vries, 49, co-founder of Medidata Solutions, died in a minor plane crash on Friday
Single-engine plane crashes in Sussex, New Jersey
De Vries, left, (LR) William Shatner in space with Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers and Australian entrepreneur Chris Boshuizen
Four space tourists aboard a Blue Origin rocket on October 13
De Vries calls going to space with Star Trek star a ‘dream come true’
Blue Origins mourns De Vries’ death by tweeting
De Vries was accompanied by Thomas Fischer of Fisher Aviation. Fisher teaches pilot course at New Jersey school
De Vries, a molecular biologist and New York University and Carnegie Mellon graduate, built his wealth through Medidata Solutions, which facilitates the most widely used clinical research platform in the world, CBS informed of.
The company’s software has managed more than 25,000 clinical trials involving more than seven million people. Medidata was acquired by Dassault Systems in 1999 for $5.8 billion.
His wife Maria told daily animal, ‘All I would say is that Glenn was a wonderful person, larger than life. He always seemed like a superhero to me, so smart, so talented, generous and really funny. A great light has gone out in the world.
His father, Alan, said, ‘He was one of the most wonderful human beings you could ever meet. He gave so much to so many people, and as a result of his work, probably millions of lives have been saved.
‘We are just devastated. I am still in a state of complete shock – me and his mother’s family and my daughter, we are all still in a state of shock. He lived life to the fullest, and I think he completely gave up. That was it.’
“Our deepest sympathies also go to our Medidata team, which was founded by Glenn,” Dassault Systems said in a statement on Friday. His relentless energy, empathy and pioneering spirit made its mark on all who knew him, “We will truly miss Glenn, but his dream – which we share – lives on: we in life sciences and healthcare ” He will progress as he did.
De Vries enjoys flying planes in his spare time, and has been attending Fischer Aviation’s pilot training courses since 2016. New Jersey Herald informed of.
De Vries flew planes in his spare time. she is pictured last week after a flight
Fisher Aviation did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
De Vries and Fisher’s plane goes missing near Kemah Lake, New Jersey
As shown in the figure above, the two men were flying in a single engined Cessna 172 aircraft.
De Vries grabbed the nation’s attention after joining the second Blue Origin space crew in October
As the crew of the New Shepard NS-18 prepared to take off on October 21, De Vries laughed from behind, spending time with Jeff Bezos in the driver’s seat.
The Federal Aviation Administration alerted police that De Vries and Fischer’s single-engine Cessna 172 plane was missing near Kemah Lake, New Jersey, at about 3 p.m. Thursday.
First responders found the wreckage in less than an hour.
Police said the single-engine plane was on its way from Caldwell’s Essex County Airport to Sussex Airport when it crashed.
The FAA said the plane was destroyed in the crash, which occurred “under unknown circumstances”.
The FAA said in a statement that a preliminary report on the plane’s crash would be issued by next week.
After de Vries touched down after a space flight last month, he said the crew had a ‘moment of skill’ when they arrived in space – Blue Origin has not disclosed the ticket price.
“We really just keep our hands together,” he said.
Powers said: ‘We wanted to make it memorable by being there together.’
‘And then we enjoyed that scene as much as we did,’ de Vries said in response.