Patriots
“He was a dynamic participant on the sphere who had an excellent greater character off it,” Patriots CEO Robert Kraft mentioned. “He knew no boundaries, pushed the bounds and lived his life to the fullest.”
Former New England Patriots tight finish Russ Francis was killed in a airplane crash at Lake Placid Airport Sunday.
The retired NFL star was in a single-engine Cessna 177 Cardinal with Richard McSpadden, a former commander of the U.S. Air Power’s Thunderbirds, when the airplane crashed on the finish of the runway shortly after 4 p.m., in line with Lake Placid Information.
Each males died within the crash, the information outlet reported.
Francis, 70, performed for the Patriots from 1975 to 1980 and once more from 1987 to 1988. He received a Tremendous Bowl ring in 1985 throughout a six-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers, enjoying underneath coach Invoice Walsh.
He completed his profession with 393 receptions for five,262 yards and 40 touchdowns, the Patriots mentioned in a information launch Monday. Francis’s 28 landing receptions nonetheless rank eleventh in franchise historical past, the Pats famous.
“Russ was a fan favourite all through his enjoying profession,” Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft mentioned in an announcement. “He was a dynamic participant on the sphere who had an excellent greater character off it. He knew no boundaries, pushed the bounds and lived his life to the fullest. Our ideas are with Russ’s household, associates, teammates and the various Patriots followers who mourn his loss.”
In July, a lifelong love of aviation led Francis to buy Lake Placid Airways, which presents scenic and constitution flights in upstate New York. In keeping with the corporate’s web site, he had been a pilot for 49 years and as soon as owned and operated an air constitution firm in his native state of Hawaii.
McSpadden, an achieved pilot himself, served as senior vice chairman of the Plane House owners and Pilots Affiliation’s Air Security Institute. In an announcement, AOPA mentioned the airplane McSpadden and Francis have been in Sunday skilled an emergency after takeoff. It was not instantly clear who was piloting the plane.
“The airplane tried to return to the airport however did not make the runway,” the group mentioned. In keeping with AOPA, McSpadden is survived by his spouse, Judy; his son, Grant; and his daughter, Annabel.
Francis’s brother, Ed Francis, mentioned in a put up on Fb that the crash left the household devastated.
“For sure, my household and I are utterly flattened,” he wrote. “Flying was my brother’s lifelong ardour, and maybe a becoming means for him to go. God pace to you my large brother!!”
Kate Naiman, the mom of considered one of Russ Francis’s kids, mentioned by way of Fb that flying was “like respiration” to the previous soccer professional.
“It got here naturally and he lived for it,” Naiman wrote. “He used to fly his P-51 Mustang to observe and land within the stadium parking zone and actually piss off Invoice Walsh. There might be some consolation down the street in figuring out that he died doing the factor he beloved most, however not immediately. Not immediately.”
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