An entrepreneur who launched into space aboard the Blue Origin space craft with “Star Trek” actor William Shatner died in a plane crash on Thursday.
Forty-nine-year-old Glen De Vries died after a single-engine Cessna 172 went down in Sussex County, N.J. Thursday afternoon, according to CNN. He was accompanied by another man, Thomas Fischer, who was also killed in the crash.
The New Jersey State Police said that the plane crashed 40 miles northwest of New York City. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed to ABC News that they are investigating the event.
An initial report on the FAA website shows the aircraft was “destroyed” in the crash, which occurred “under unknown circumstances,” The New Jersey Herald reported.
Maria Njoku, a spokesperson for the FAA, told The Herald that a preliminary report on investigators’ findings will be released in about a week.
The FAA did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
Last month, De Vries along with actor Shatner, Chris Boshuizen, and Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers traveled to space. The travelers were launched into space with Blue Origin, an aerospace company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
In a statment posted to Twitter, Blue Origin expressed its condolences for De Vries.
“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.”