Four people aboard a small plane returning from University of Florida football game over the weekend were presumed dead on Sunday night night when the aircraft experienced engine trouble and crashed into swampland in West Broward, authorities said.

The single-engine plane went down west of U.S. 27 just south of the Broward-Palm Beach County line, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office, which sent search teams of firefighters and paramedics into the marsh Sunday. The cause of crash is unknown.

Moments before the crash, the pilot contacted operators at MIA's control tower, reported engine trouble and declared mayday before the transmission cut off, according to Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators were at the crash scene, but it may take months to determine why the plane went down only a few miles from its Fort Lauderdale destination.

``It's a long, thorough process,'' said NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway.

Authorities presume the pilot and three passengers are dead because of the severity of the crash, said BSO spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion.

The plane's pilot was Fort Lauderdale investment advisor Bruce Barber, a longtime aviator who owns and operates Bull Gator Air, according to friends.

Barber named his company after the UF team and would often take his plane -- painted white with blue and orange stripes -- north for weekend Gator games. He was an honored Bull Gator, part of the elite group of fans who donate thousands of dollars to the team.

Barber's friend and former business partner, Eric Elliott, said the pilot and his family were returning from a weekend in Gainesville.

Elliott said those onboard included Barber's wife Karen, 14-year-old son Payton and friend Phil Marsh. Not aboard the aircraft was their 9-year-old daughter Chloe, who they left at a friend's home for the weekend.

Source: MiamiHerald.com