Follow Mogul Who Flew to Space With Bezos and Shatner Dies in Plane Crash

11/12

Entrepreneur Glen de Vries, who blasted into space alongside Star Trek’s William Shatner last month with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, was killed in a plane crash on Thursday, New Jersey State Police said.

Mario Tama/Getty© Provided by The Daily Beast Mario Tama/Getty
The small aircraft crashed in Sussex County, New Jersey, shortly before 3 p.m., killing De Vries, 49, and Thomas P. Fischer, 54. The FAA is investigating the crash, a state police spokesperson said.

Medidata Solutions co-founder Glen de Vries. Patrick T. Fallon/Getty© Provided by The Daily Beast Medidata Solutions co-founder Glen de Vries. Patrick T. Fallon/Getty
De Vries, a private pilot, marathoner, and ballroom dancer during his off-hours, was a molecular biologist and co-founded Medidata Solutions, a clinical research platform that was acquired by Dassault Systèmes in 1999 for $5.8 billion.

“Our thoughts and support go out to Glen’s family,” a Dassault spokesperson said in a statement on Friday. “Our deepest sympathy also goes out to our MEDIDATA team, which Glen co-founded. His tireless energy, empathy and pioneering spirit left their mark on everyone who knew him. 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.”

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