The Super Bowl XIX winner was killed as a plane took-off at Lake Placid Airport

Former NFL tight-end Russ Francis is dead after a plane crash occurred at Lake Placid Airport on Sunday October 1.

The 70-year-old was aboard the aircraft, which experienced problems shortly after taking off from the airport in Franklin County, the state of New York, United States.

The disaster happened shortly after 4pm, with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reporting that the aircraft attempted to return to the runway but failed to successfully do so.

Francis was aboard the Cessna 177 Cardinal along with Richard McSpadden, who also died. McSpadden was the senior vice president of the AOPA Air Safety Institute.

In August, Francis had purchased Lake Placid Airways which sells charter and scenic flights.

Remembering Russ Francis
Francis was born in Seattle on April 3, 1953 and was selected as the 16th pick in the first round of the 1975 draft after graduating from the Oregon Ducks football team.

He would spend 13 seasons in the NFL as a tight-end, playing for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers between 1975 and 1989.

He made 393 career receptions for 5,262 yards and 40 touchdowns and was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall Of Fame in 1993.

The pinnacle of Francis’s career came at Super Bowl XIX in 1984. The 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins 38-16 as Francis earned the only ring of his career and producing five receptions for 60 yards.

Outside of football, he was a successful athlete in general being drafted by the Kanas City Royals in MLB and competing in wrestling, notably at WrestleMania 2. He also set a record of 23.91 seconds in 50-yard swimming before it was later broken by an Olympian diver.

He also attempted to run for Congress in Hawaii but was defeated in the election with 36 percent of the vote.