A prominent couple from Niagara-on-the-Lake and their daughter were killed in a small plane crash in Maine Monday.

(Brock University)

Friends say Joseph and Anita Robertson and daughter Laura, gave their time generously to supports arts, charities and universities in the Niagara region.

(Facebook)

Police confirm 58-year-old Joseph Robertson, his 58-year-old wife Anita and their 24-year-old daughter Laura died when a twin-engine propeller Aerostar crashed into a field near the municipal airport in Greenville.

Brian McMullen, a former mayor of St. Catherines, says he’d been informed they were on their way to Charlottetown for a vacation when the plane went down.  

He says the family made a key early donation to the performing arts centre, were active in the United Way and that Joseph Robertson served on the board of Brock University.

The National Transportation Safety agency is investigating in hopes of determining the probable cause.