Glen DeVries, vice president of the French company Dassault Systemes, was killed in the crash of a small Cessna-172 aircraft in New Jersey, USA. This was announced on Friday, November 12, by Blue Origin, which sent the New Shepard rocket on a suborbital flight in October, including with DeVries on board.
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
"We are shattered by the news of the unexpected death of Glen DeVries. He brought so much vital energy to the company's work and to his fellow pilots. His passion for flying, charity work and passion for the cause will be admired," the company said on Twitter.
As CBS reported on Friday, two people died as a result of the plane crash: in addition to Devries, there was a passenger on the plane, 54-year-old Thomas Fisher. According to CBS, the businessman was an amateur pilot.
The TV channel noted that the plane operated by DeVries was heading from the Essex County Airport to the Sussex County Airport. During the flight, at about 15:00 local time (23:00 Moscow time), the plane was reported missing. Subsequently, it turned out that the Cessna-172 crashed in a wooded area near Lake Kema in New Jersey.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin New Shepard made its second manned flight on October 13. There were four tourists on board. In addition to Glen DeVries, the crew included 90-year-old Canadian actor William Shatner, known for his role as captain of the starship Enterprise James Kirk in the TV series and films Star Trek, Blue Origin vice president for flights Audrey Powers, former NASA engineer and co-founder of Planet Labs Chris Boshuizen.
The flight will last approximately 11 minutes. After a vertical acceleration lasting 110 seconds, the descent vehicle will separate from the carrier, which will continue to climb by inertia to about 105 km, that is, just above the Pocket line.
The fact that Blue Origin will launch two ships with passengers by the end of the year became known on July 20. Bezos then noted that he was not yet sure whether the company would carry out manned launches in 2022.
