Retired NFL tight end Russ Francis died in an airplane crash Sunday. The 1984 Super Bowl champion is said to be one of two casualties in the incident at the Lake Placid Airport in New York.
Francis, 70, has been identified as among the deceased alongside Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) senior vice president Richard McSpadden. The AOPA released a statement reporting McSpadden’s death.
Their release states that the Cessna 177 Cardinal airplane they were in “experienced an emergency after takeoff.” It adds that they “attempted to return to the airport but failed to make the runway.”
The crash occurred around 4:09 p.m. ET near the North Elba Athletic Fields. The Lake Placid News reports that the village emergency services, New York State Police, Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad and state Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers were among the dozens of personnel attending the scene Sunday afternoon.
Francis was said to be a flying fanatic from childhood. Alongside yacht racer Rives Potts, he bought Lake Placid Airways this year as a scenic tour business.
Kate Naiman, the mother to one of Francis’ sons, Michael, paid tribute to him in a Facebook post. “I am shattered to share that my son’s father, NFL great Russ Francis, passed away, along with a friend, in a plane crash Sunday afternoon,” it reads.
“One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was to choke those words out to Michael. Sending aloha to Russ’s partner Jaxie, to Michael’s sister Rachel and brother Riley, to Russ’s sister, Pixie, and brothers Bill and Uncle. My heart aches for all of you.
“To Russ, flying was like breathing…it came naturally and he lived for it. He used to fly his P-51 Mustang to practice and land in the stadium parking lot and really p*** off [San Francisco 49ers head coach] Bill Walsh.
“There will be some comfort down the road in knowing that he died doing the thing he loved most, but not today. Not today.”
In pro football, broadcaster Howard Cosell once described Francis as an “All-World Tight End” while playing for the New England Patriots. During six seasons, he was a three-time Pro Bowl selection, albeit missing one of the games after sustaining injuries in a motorcycle crash, and a two-time All-Pro second-team player.
