Former Pro Bowl tight Russ Francis was killed in a plane crash in Lake Placid, New York, on Sunday, according to family members. Francis was 70.
Francis and Richard McSpadden, a former commander of the US Air Force Thunderbirds, rolled hard to the left after takeoff from Lake Placid Airport before crashing, according to an NTSB spokesperson. It was not immediately clear whether Francis or McSpadden was flying the plane.
Francis was taken by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 1975 draft. He made three Pro Bowls for the team.
In 1982, he moved on to the San Francisco 49ers where he won a Super Bowl in the 1984 season.