Micron CEO Steve Appleton dies in crash of small plane - Polidicks

[release]BOISE, Idaho (AP) – The chief executive and chairman of memory chip maker Micron died Friday morning when a small, experimental fixed-wing plane he was piloting crashed at Boise Airport, the company said. He was 51 years old. Micron spokesman Dan Francisco confirmed Steve Appleton's death, and trading in Micron Technology stock (MU) was halted. Appleton, a professional stunt plane pilot and former motocross racer, was the only one in the plane when it crashed. Micron's board of directors issued a statement that said in part, "Steve's passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large." Micron Technology is a global maker of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory. Appleton started on the factory floor at Micron in 1983 and worked his way up. In 1991, he was named president and chief operating officer, and in 1994 he was named chairman, chief executive officer and president. He assumed his current position in 2007. Micron, based in Boise, has 20,000 employees worldwide and is one of Idaho's largest employers. Ada County dispatch in Idaho received reports Friday of a small plane on fire before it landed. Airport spokeswoman Patti Miller said the airplane was a fixed-wing single-engine Lancair. The Lancair is built from kits, and others like it have design characteristics that allow the planes to fly much faster than most small planes. In 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety advisory to pilots because the planes are prone to stalling during slow-speed operations close to the ground. An FAA analysis found that the planes have experienced fatal accident rates substantially higher than other small, personal use planes, including other types of planes made from kits, the advisory said. The advisory came after a Lancair plane killed a jogger on the beach in South Carolina. Micron shares were trading at $7.95 Friday before trading was halted. The company's shares have traded between $3.97 and $11.95 over the past year. It's not the first time Appleton has been in a small plane crash, and questions have been raised in the past about whether the head of a large corporation should be engaging in that hobby. On July 8, 2004, Appleton sustained a punctured lung, head injuries, ruptured disk and broken bones after his stunt plane crashed in the desert east of Boise. Appleton didn't immediately reveal the severity of injuries he sustained in that crash, and in 2006 a corporate governance expert began questioning disclosures about the crash. Appleton owned several types of aircraft and flew frequently. He had a penchant for other adventures, too: In 2006, he won the 20-car Baja Challenge Class of the SCORE Tecate Baja 1000, completing the 1,047-mile run from Enseneda to La Paz in 25 hours and 25 minutes, 30 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. read more: [url]http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/story/2012-02-03/micron-ceo-plane-crash/52949164/1[/url][/release]

:smith:

Whats with these millionaires and their experimental aircraft?

[QUOTE]Appleton, a professional stunt plane pilot and former motocross racer[/QUOTE] Why is it always the rad people that dies prematurely, while the bigoted retards live to around the 90 mark?

[QUOTE=Jimpy;34532070]Whats with these millionaires and their experimental aircraft?[/QUOTE] Eventually, blowing your millions on cars gets boring.

[QUOTE]Appleton, a professional stunt plane pilot[/QUOTE] Suuuuuuuuure

Yeah but Steve jobs, CEO of Apple died a while ago

[QUOTE=Van-man;34532099]Why is it always the rad people that dies prematurely, while the bigoted retards live to around the 90 mark?[/QUOTE][I]Only the good die young, all the evil seem to live forever...[/I]

[QUOTE=Jimpy;34532070]Whats with these millionaires and their experimental aircraft?[/QUOTE] Pointless to have loads of money and not spend it on something.

Name is ironically similar to Steve jobs. What a shame though.

[QUOTE=Liem;34532167]Suuuuuuuuure[/QUOTE] He's really a great pilot, having seen him flying many times. The thing is experimental aircraft can be deathtraps for a lot of great people.

I'm starting to suspect some sort of "Eliminate all Steves" conspiracy is going down.

Steve....[b]Apple[/b]ton...? Aside from the obvious joke, I honestly haven't heard of this guy.

[QUOTE=A Noobcake;34532817]I'm starting to suspect some sort of "Eliminate all Steves" conspiracy is going down.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://www.minecraftwiki.net/images/e/ed/Mob1.png[/IMG][/QUOTE] Minecraft is going to be withdrawed from the market.

I'm using 4x1GB Micron DDR3-1333, coincidence Stuff like this is probably why i'll never try to build anything that could suddenly fail and kill me

Why not spend your millions on puppies or something He was 50!