Someone at Micron will have an unexpected promotion...

[CougTek]

...because their former CEO killed himself in a small plane crash. Steve Appleton was only 51 years-old.

Company statement

Time must have sent him too much negative thoughts due to the Crucial firmware fiasco.

 

[ddrueding]

He liked to fly experimental aerobatic aircraft that he built himself. That is not a sport for the timid.

 

[LunarMist]

The shareholders are probably not amused either.

 

[ddrueding]

If they didn't price-in the habits of the CEO, they were idiots. This isn't even the first time he's crashed a plane.

 

[LunarMist]

Wow. Sounds that that plane has a defect or is difficult to fly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancair_IV-P.

I prefer two pilots and two engines.

 

[BingBangBop]

I prefer two pilots and two engines.

I keep thinking of the Pushmi-Pullyu from Doctor Dolittle. One pilot in front with his prop and the second one pointed back with her engine and the plane going nowhere quick.
Pushmi-Pullyu

 

[LunarMist]

Like the old 337?

 

[ddrueding]

Like the old 337?

That is actually a really nice ride. If they weren't so expensive I'd be considering one. As most of my flights are over land I don't worry so much about engine failure; from 5k+ feet in the air with a little planning, there is always somewhere safe to put down.

People don't seem to realize that it is really hard to die in a GA plane crash.

1. If professionally built and maintained and properly inspected, failures are extremely rare.

2. Typically, you have massive separation from any obstacles (aircraft, ground, even clouds). This gives you minutes to correct errors, as opposed to fractions of a second in a car.

3. Even in the event of a failure, a controlled landing is almost always possible. Anything short of an airframe breakup or elevator linkage failure is quite manageable.