Former New England Patriots star and Super Bowl winner Russ Francis died in a small plane crash in Lake Placid, New York, Sunday.
The former tight end was one of two people who died in the crash at Lake Placid Airport Sunday afternoon, Lake Placid police and officials from the town of North Elba told NBC affiliate WPTZ. Also on board was Richard McSpadden, an executive at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association which, in a statement, noted that he once served as a commander of the elite U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
The plane was taking off and had an unspecified emergency, according to the association, which said in a statement that it "attempted to return to the airport but failed to make the runway.