NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Medical research entrepreneur Glen de Vries, who flew to space last month with actor William Shatner aboard a rocket ship operated by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, died in a small plane crash in New Jersey, state police said on Friday (Nov 12).

The plane crashed on Thursday in Sussex County, New Jersey, just north-west of New York City, police said, adding that Mr De Vries, 49, and another man aboard the aircraft, Mr Thomas Fischer, 54, were killed.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash, according to state police.

"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 crew mates," astro-tourism venture Blue Origin said on Twitter.

Mr de Vries, an instrument-rated private pilot and founder of clinical research company Medidata Solutions, soared to space last month in a suborbital joyride aboard the New Shepard rocketship of Blue Origin, riding along with three other civilian crew members.

The most notable of the four New Shepard passengers was Shatner, the 90-year-old actor best known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk on the original 1960s television show Star Trek.

The Oct 13 launch made Shatner the oldest person ever to fly into space.

The two other crew mates for that flight were former Nasa engineer Chris Boshuizen and Blue Origin vice-president Audrey Powers.

Medidata Solutions, formed by Mr de Vries in 1999, ranks as the world's most used clinical research platform, according to a career profile of Mr de Vries that Blue Origin posted when he was chosen as one of the four New Shepard passengers.

He was vice-chair of life sciences and healthcare at French software company Dassault Systemes, which acquired Medidata in 2019. He also served as a trustee of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.