Micron CEO dies in KBOI crash

DE727UPS

Well-Known Member
Just hit the news...


http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/feb/03/micron-ceo-dies-plane-crash

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Steve Appleton, the chief executive and chairman of Micron, died Friday morning in a small, experimental fixed-wing plane crash, the company said. He was 51.

Micron spokesman Dan Francisco confirmed Appleton’s death in a release, and trading in Micron stocks has been halted.

Appleton, a professional stunt plane pilot and former motocross racer, was the only one in the plane when it crashed at the Boise airport.

Micron Technology Inc. is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets a full range of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory.

Ada County dispatch received reports of a small plane that was on fire before it landed. Airport spokeswoman Patti Miller said the airplane is a fixed wing single engine Lancair.

In a prepared statement, Micron’s board of directors said, “Steve’s passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large.”

Micron shares were up 23 cents at $7.95 Friday before trading was halted in the early afternoon for the announcement. 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.

“It’s not prescribed in rule or law, but you need to communicate so people have a fair understanding to make an investor decision, and that decision is to buy, sell or hold,” Hank Boerner, managing director of New York-based Rowen & Blewett, told The Idaho Statesman.
 
I'm a pilot for Micron. It's a sad day. He was out flying one of his private aircraft just like he did several times a week.
 
I wasn't aware of him owning a Lancair. The Viper was the first thing that popped into my head because thats what I have seen him in.
 
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.


Come again!?! If I were the CEO of a company and had the kind of coin this guy had, I sure as hell would have all the cool toys, and use them to.
 
Anyone who Wall St. mistrusted is ok in my book. Esp. if they were a genuine innovator and not another ledger-shuffling/burning "Master of the Universe".

Sorry to see him go. *hats off*
 
Wow knew a few guys who worked for Micron when I was stationed at Gowen/Boise airport. Definitely the biggest employer in Boise from my perspective. I hope they continue on course. RIP.
 
Come again!?! If I were the CEO of a company and had the kind of coin this guy had, I sure as hell would have all the cool toys, and use them to.

Yeah it's a good thing this is a free country (erm... sort of). Besides, if they were smart they had a succession plan anyway... I'm not saying that this is okay... it sucks... but come on really? What good is making money if they lock you in a vault and only let you out to make more money.
 
The problem is as CEO he has a duty to the shareholders - by undertaking high risk activities he can jeopardize their investment. I have played polo with many high value people who have to get board approval to play. No one is forcing them to still be CEO, choices have to be made.
 
The problem is as CEO he has a duty to the shareholders - by undertaking high risk activities he can jeopardize their investment. I have played polo with many high value people who have to get board approval to play. No one is forcing them to still be CEO, choices have to be made.

And no one is forcing them to stay with said company. Life is meant to be lived, not to ask permission to live it. If you don't like the fact that the CEO engages in extra-curricular activities, find another job, or start your own company and be the competiton so when said CEO dies in a plane crash, you are in a position to benifit.
 
Back
Top