Bezos and Sanchez at Disneyland (MEGA photo)
Jeff Bezos is famous as the founder of the retail giant Amazon and one of the richest people in the world. These days, while he is focused on the space travels of his company Blue Origin, his partner Lauren Sanchez reveals a very surprising detail about him.
Apart from a few paparazzi shots, Bezos keeps his privacy religiously and it is difficult to know his habits or his fears, for example. Sanchez has just revealed one of Bezos’ biggest fears. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, she stated that the billionaire has a fear of flying.
“Avoid helicopters whenever possible”
Bezos was present at a helicopter crash in 2003, and credits Sanchez with the fact that he is now more comfortable in the air. In March 2003, Bezos was looking for a place to test rocket engines from his new aerospace venture Blue Origin. He visited a canyon near Cathedral Mountain, nearly 50 miles from the Mexican border.
The billionaire who hurried back to Amazon headquarters in Seattle insisted on touring by air and not on horseback as the locals recommended, according to a report by Washington Post journalist Christian Davenport in his book “Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos.” The Amazon founder boarded an Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter with three other people including the pilot.
More in-
Davenport wrote that a gust of wind blew the helicopter into trees. The pilot lost control, and the helicopter clipped a mound of dirt. The rotor blades broke off and the chassis rolled and fell to the ground, breaking the helicopter’s tail in the process. The chassis flew into the stream. All four occupants of the helicopter escaped alive, but of course left with a hard impression.
“Avoid helicopters if possible,” Bezos told Fast Company in 2004 about the accident. “They are not as reliable as fixed-wing aircraft.”
Sanchez and Bezos find their inspiration in the sky. Sanchez is a helicopter pilot. She often flies the Bezos and their families on trips around the world. According to the Wall Street Journal, she is in the cockpit of a helicopter at least three times a week to keep up with instruments and technology. She transferred this passion to Bezos.
Sanchez helped him overcome his fear of flying. As a result, he is in the process of getting a helicopter pilot’s license himself.
This revelation is certainly surprising, especially in light of the fact that Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000. The company provides manufacturing services and suborbital space flights. Its main competitor is Elon Musk’s SpaceX. In 2021, Bezos went into space with his brother on Blue Origin’s first-ever crewed mission.
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