MICRON Technology's chairman and chief executive Steve Appleton died in a small-plane crash early yesterday, the company said.

Appleton, 51, head of the mid-sized chipmaker, was the only person in the plane when it crashed in Boise, Idaho, near the company's headquarters, according to local media reports.

"Steve's passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large," Micron's board of directors said in a statement.

The Idaho Statesman newspaper said local emergency dispatchers received reports of Appleton's small single-engine Lancair plane on fire before it crashed between two runways at the Boise airport around 9:00am local time (1600 GMT).

Despite the accident Micron shares were up 3.0 percent in afternoon trade, carried by a strong market overall.