Air Safety Institute’s Richard McSpadden Dies In Crash

Richard McSpadden, the senior vice president of the AOPA Air Safety Institute, died along with one other person in the crash of a Cessna 177RG near Lake Placid Airport in upstate New York on Sunday.

Russ Niles

Sunday, October 01, 2023 at 09:06 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Richard McSpadden, Senior Vice President of the AOPA Air Safety Institute, died along with Russ Francis, former NFL tight end, in a Cessna 177RG crash near Lake Placid Airport.
The aircraft experienced an "emergency on takeoff" and attempted to return to the runway but did not make it.
McSpadden was a former USAF Thunderbirds commander and was widely known and respected in the general aviation community for his contributions to air safety and accident analysis.

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Richard McSpadden, the senior vice president of the AOPA Air Safety Institute, died along with one other person in the crash of a Cessna 177RG near Lake Placid Airport (KLKP) in upstate New York on Sunday.

McSpadden was in the right seat. Russ Francis, a former NFL tight end and the new owner of Lake Placid Airways, was in the left seat according to the Lake Placid News. AOPA spokesman Eric Blinderman stated that early reports indicate the Cardinal had “an emergency on takeoff” from Lake Placid shortly before 5 p.m. EDT.