LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Former NFL tight end Russ Francis, a three-time Pro Bowl selection with the New England Patriots who won a Super Bowl with the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, was killed along with another aviation enthusiast when their small plane crashed after takeoff from an upstate New York airport, authorities said Monday.
Francis, 70, and Richard McSpadden, 63, had just departed from the Lake Placid Airport shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday in a single-engine Cessna 177 when the plane encountered trouble. The New York State Police said the aircraft crashed into an embankment at the corner of the airport.