The Tragic Death Of The Tech Mogul Who Flew To Space With William Shatner
Glen M. DeVries, a crew member of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin aerospace company, died on November 11 at age 49. DeVries and Thomas P. Fischer, 54, died in a fatal plane crash in Hampton Township, New Jersey, according to People. DeVries and Fischer were the only two people aboard the small passenger plane, although it is unclear which was the pilot. However, Fischer's website notes that he began training DeVries to be a pilot in 2016.
DeVries was a crew member on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, which went to space in October. Prior to launching into space, DeVries made a commemorative post on his Instagram. "Literally my oldest, and lifelong enduring, dream," he wrote alongside an old photo of himself as a child playing with what appears to be a homemade rocket.
DeVries was very active on Instagram and made several posts about his trip with Blue Origin. In one post, he gushed about his admiration for William Shatner. "... to go to space with @williamshatner, who has personified 'space cool' since, well, as long as I can remember... is simply awesome!" he wrote alongside a photo of himself as Captain Kirk on Halloween in 2017. Shatner was also onboard the New Shepard. The actor is active on Twitter, but has yet to comment on DeVries' passing.
DeVries and Fischer both had a love of flying
Blue Origin tweeted a tribute to Glen DeVries in the wake of his death. "He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates," they wrote. "His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired." Nadia M. Bracken, a colleague of DeVries, tweeted, "The world lost a visionary. May his legacy of innovation in the life sciences industry live on."
Thomas Fischer owned Fischer Aviation, a flight school which has been featured in Popular Mechanics, per the school's website. Fischer's bio states that his father was also a flight instructor who actually gave him his first flying lesson when he was only 12 years old. Testimonials on the website praised Fischer's teaching skills. "I have NEVER had an instructor with such a deep wealth of knowledge of aviation," wrote one student. Another student praised his patience. "He doesn't berate you when you screw up," he wrote. "He'll basically let you make mistakes ... and you can bet you'll learn from that experience." Indeed, Fischer stated in his bio that this philosophy came from his father — "small changes, small mistakes."