BOISE, Idaho — A small experimental plane piloted by the chief executive and chairman of Micron Technology Inc. crashed after take-off Friday at the Boise airport, killing the head of the memory chip company.
Steve Appleton, a stunt pilot who survived a similar crash in 2004, was 51.
National Transportation Safety Board air investigator Zoe Keliher said Appleton tried to take off once but landed again immediately, and then taxied to a hangar for about five minutes. She said witnesses reported the plane then took off again and only got to 100 or 200 feet in the air before it steeply banked or rolled, appeared to stall and crashed. Appleton’s body was thrown from the wreckage.
Keliher said the remains weren’t immediately identifiable but Appleton’s wallet was among the debris. The body is being fingerprinted by authorities.
Micron spokesman Dan Francisco confirmed Appleton’s death in a news release Friday.
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