Washington  - A pilot died after his small plane crashed into a Florida home shortly after taking off from a nearby airport Friday, authorities said.

The twin engine Cessna carrying only the pilot crashed in Oakland Park after taking office from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, a police spokeswoman said.

"We're assuming that nobody survived," Veda Coleman-Wright, a spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff's Office, said.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and quickly doused the blaze in the gaping hole of the house. (dpa)