In the early morning of February 4th, Beijing time, Steve Appleton, CEO and Chairman of Micron Technology Inc., was at the Boise Airport in Idaho on Friday morning. He died in a small plane accident and was 51 years old. Prior to this, Micron’s products were being severely affected by the decline in computer sales and price declines.

According to reports, the Micron board of directors has now officially appointed the president and COO Mark Durcan as the new CEO.

Appleton’s sudden death shocked the entire US semiconductor industry. Appleton is a prominent figure in Boise City in the central United States and a member of the Idaho Business Council.

Appleton was born in California, and after graduating from Boise State University in 1983, he entered Micron Technology, starting from night shift workers. He was appointed as the CEO in 1994. He resigned in 1996, but after nine days, due to repeated requests from the board of directors, he returned to his post.

Since then, his development has been smooth, at the age of 34 he became the youngest CEO of Fortune 500.

Appleton is a famous sports enthusiast. He likes to participate in scuba diving, surfing and off-road vehicles and motorcycle racing. He also received the prestigious Robert Noyce Award from the Semiconductor Industry Association in 2011 - the highest honor in the semiconductor industry. The award is named after Intel co-founder Robert Neuss and is used to honor industry elites who have made significant contributions in the semiconductor industry.

According to reports, Appleton was the driver of the fixed-wing test aircraft and the only person on board.

Another superstar in the semiconductor industry declining Brian Toohey, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association of the United States, said in a statement: “Appleton is a person with genuine insights and a true leader in our industry. The entire semiconductor industry will feel sorry for his departure. We will pray for him with his family."

Micron's business mainly produces memory chips for PCs, smartphones and tablets. Its competitors include Hynix Semiconductor Inc., Samsung Electronics, and Toshiba and other Asian companies.

Among the world's eight largest DRAM chip manufacturers, only Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. are currently profitable. In contrast, Elpida, ProMOS, Powerchip, and Nanya Technology Corp. are harder to bear the upfront investment of billions of dollars in new factories and new machines. If you do not upgrade your equipment, production costs will become higher.

Currently, all memory chip manufacturers are facing the dilemma of falling product prices, and still need to make large-scale investments for enterprises. In the case of large-scale losses, they still need to ensure the company's competitive advantage. Micron Technology, on the other hand, is the only memory chip manufacturer in the United States. Steve Appleton once said: Compared with a large number of suppliers, a smaller number of large chip manufacturers can better judge market demand and adjust production capacity based on buyer fluctuations.

Affected by the accidental death of Appleton, Micron Technology's stocks listed on Nasdaq have been suspended on Friday morning. The company's stock price just rose 3% to $7.95 before closing the deal.