Well-known Canadian painter Toni Onley has been identified as the pilot who died in a plane crash near Vancouver over the weekend.

Onley was piloting a float plane that hit the water of the Fraser River at Maple Ridge Sunday.

According to witnesses, the plane went down around 1:30 p.m. PT and was floating down the river before it submerged. The cause of the crash is not known.

RCMP were able to locate a large piece of the wreckage Monday afternoon, using an underwater camera.

Onley, 75, was an experienced pilot who survived the crash of another plane several years ago on the side of a mountain glacier.

He had flown his own plane to remote locations western and northern Canada to paint landscapes. A biography of his life and work was titled Flying Colours.

Onley was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, England, and moved to Canada in 1948, inspired by the Group of Seven wilderness artists.

Over the years, Onley raised funds for environmental groups and worked to save some of B.C.'s old growth forests. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada and his work was shown in galleries around the world.

In 1981 he enjoyed the distinction of earning $930,000 for a single canvas, at the time the highest price ever paid to a Canadian artist.