Loss of power led to Super Bowl winner Russ Francis’s fatal plane crash

• Francis, 70, was a Super Bowl champion and qualified pilot
• Plane attempted to return to New York-area airport

The plane crash that killed former NFL tight end Russ Francis and another man at an airport in New York state occurred after the craft's engine apparently lost power, a federal investigator said on Tuesday.

Francis, 70, and Richard McSpadden, 63, had taken off from the Lake Placid Airport on Sunday afternoon in a single-engine Cessna 177 when the plane encountered trouble. The plane, which has two steering columns, had turned around in an attempt to land, officials said.