Former NFL player among 2 killed in Upstate NY plane crash (report)

A former Super Bowl champion is among two people killed in an airplane crash in Upstate New York, according to a new report.

Russ Francis, a tight end who played 13 seasons in the NFL, died Sunday when a plane crashed at the Lake Placid Airport, according to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Francis, 70, had recently purchased the Lake Placid Airways scenic tour business at the airport located in the Adirondacks region.

The other victim was identified as Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Senior Vice President Richard McSpadden, according to the report. McSpadden was in the right seat of the plane, a Cessna 177 Cardinal, when it experienced an emergency after takeoff around 4:09 p.m., according to the AOPA.

“The airplane attempted to return to the airport but failed to make the runway,” the AOPA said in a statement. “Both occupants lost their lives.”

Francis was a three-time Pro Bowl selection who played for the New England Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers, winning Super Bowl XIX with teammate Joe Montana in 1985. He finished his NFL career with 363 receptions for 5,262 yards and 40 touchdowns and was inducted in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, he managed to join the NFL despite only playing football for one year at the University of Oregon. Francis was a prolific athlete who set a high school record for javelin at Pleasant High School in Oregon, where he was also a decathlete, and briefly worked as a pro wrestler before being selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 1975 NFL Draft.

McSpadden was a pilot and commander of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, according to the AOPA. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Further details will be released Monday, New York State Police said. An investigation is ongoing with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Traffic Safety Board.