Brother of Ex-NFL Player Killed in Plane Says Flying Was His Passion and ‘Fitting Way For Him to Go’

Tributes are flowing in for Russ Francis, the former NFL Super Bowl winner who died in a plane crash in New York on Sunday.

Ed Francis posted on Facebook: “Needless to say, my family and I are completely flattened.  Flying was my brother's lifelong passion, and perhaps a fitting way for him to go. God speed to you my big brother!”

Francis was a Super Bowl-winning tight end who played for 13 seasons in the NFL in the '70s and '80s. He played for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. He got his Super Bowl Ring in the 49ers' win over the Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX.

Former 49ers teammate Jesse Sapolu said he was saddened by the news.

“Rip big bro,” Sapolu said in an X post.

Kate Naiman, who had a son with Francis, said she was “shattered” by the news.

In a Facebook post she said, “To Russ, flying was like breathing...it came naturally and he lived for it.  He used to fly his P-51 Mustang to practice and land in the stadium parking lot and really piss off Bill Walsh.  There will be some comfort down the road in knowing that he died doing the thing he loved most, but not today. Not today.”

The New England Patriots posted on X: "We are deeply saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of former New England Patriots tight end Russ Francis."

Richard McSpadden, the senior vice president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, also died in the crash.

The plane went down just after 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Lake Placid Airport.

The New York State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Traffic Safety Board were investigating the crash.