Plane crash in Lake Placid kills 2, including former NFL player Russ Francis of Patriots, 49ers

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Former NFL player Russ Francis, a tight end whose career in the league included multiple Pro Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl victory, was killed along with another aviation enthusiast when the single-engine plane the two men were in crashed shortly after takeoff from an airport in upstate New York. The 70-year-old Francis and 63-year-old Richard McSpadden had taken off from the Lake Placid Airport shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday in a Cessna 177 plane. The New York State Police say it crashed into an embankment. Francis was a first-round pick in the NFL draft in 1975. He played with the New England Patriots from 1975 to 1980. Francis joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1982, and was part of the team that won the Super Bowl in 1984. He rejoined New England in 1987 and retired the year after.