GREENVILLE, Maine, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A small plane crash on Monday claimed three lives at the Greenville Municipal Airport in rural Maine, a state in northeastern United States, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The cause of the accident is under investigation. The names of those killed have not been released yet, and the bodies of the victims have yet to be removed on Monday afternoon due to concerns over the safety of the crash site, said a spokesman for the Greenville Police Department.

The twin-engine plane, leaving from Pembroke, a city in Ontario, for Prince Edward Island in Canada, crashed at around 11 a.m. local time as it approached the runway after it appeared to have some problems, officials said on Monday.

The FAA will investigate the crash with the National Transportation Safety Board, with the latter expected to release more information about the incident on Tuesday.