Russ Francis, the former New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers tight end, has been killed in a plane crash in Lake Placid, New York. He was 70.
According to the Lake Placid News, Francis and a companion, vice president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Richard McSpadden, took off from Lake Placid Airport in a Cessna 177 Cardinal on Sunday afternoon. The craft then "experienced an emergency after takeoff" and crashed at the end of the runway at 4:09 p.m.
“The airplane attempted to return to the airport but failed to make the runway,” the AOPA said in a statement.