NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- A New York businessman who went to space with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin alongside William Shatner died in a plane crash in New Jersey Thursday, state police said.
Glen de Vries, 49, of Manhattan, was among the two victims on the small plane that went down in a wooded area in Sussex County, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane departed from Essex County Airport in Caldwell and was headed to Sussex Airport when the FAA alerted public safety agencies to look for the missing plane around 3 p.m., according to the agency.
De Vries went to space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket just a month ago with Shatner and two others for 10 minutes, and shared plenty of excitement for the flight with CBS Mornings.
"I just can't wait to stare out that window and feel differently about humanity and our planet than I've ever had the opportunity to before,” he said.
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"A very good day just turned in a horrible way. R.I.P. Glen de Vries, 1972-2021," a SpaceX fan Twitter account tweeted in tribute.
De Vries co-founded Medidata Solutions, the most used clinical research platform worldwide, according to CBS.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.