Nicholas and Robin Albury, the two Bahamian brothers killed Wednesday, in the crash of US Airways Express Flight 5481 in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Sun Sentinel)

By TAMARA McKENZIE

Guardian Staff Reporter

The Marsh Harbour, Abaco community is in a state of shock today, after learning that three of its residents were among 21 persons on board U.S. Airways Express flight 5481 which crashed after taking off from the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport on Wednesday.

There were no survivors, with the plane "so destroyed there's not much to see," according to Charlotte police spokesman Keith Bridges. "It's just a horrible sight."

The Beech 1900 twin-engine turboprop crashed just before 9 a.m. on takeoff from the North Carolina airport for Greenville-Spartanburg Airport in South Carolina.

Among the dead are prominent Abaco businessman, 21-year-old Nicholas Albury, his brother, 38-year-old Robin Rae Albury, and Robin's daughter, 12-year-old Caitlin Albury, all of Little Orchard, Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

The men are part owners of the family-operated Abaco Hardware Ltd. in Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

Mr. Gurth Russell, brother-in-law of the two men, told The Guardian that both men and little Caitlin left Abaco on Tuesday for North Carolina to attend a hardware trade show in Greenville, taking the commuter flight from Charlotte to Greenville-Spartanburg.

Mr. Russell said that the family initially received the news while watching a newscast of the crash via CNN. He said that the family knew that Nicholas, Robin and Caitlin were onboard the U.S. Airways flight.

"Of course, U.S. Air was good with providing information. They gave us a number to call and when we called, we got a confirmation that the three of them were onboard the flight and that there were no survivors," he said.

The brothers were "prominent businessmen in Marsh Harbour" and were well-known in the community.

"The personality of the two men as well as the young girl was beautiful," Mr. Russell said.

He told The Guardian that Nicholas was married a year ago, while Robin was expected to celebrate his birthday on January 19.

As yet, no memorial plans have been made for the two men and young Caitlin, but they are hoping to get some IDs in an effort to have the bodies returned to Abaco, he said. "But at this point of time, it is very premature for anything like that."

Marsh Harbour Administrator, Mr. Alexander Williams, told The Guardian in an interview on Wednesday that he received information about the crash around 11:00 a.m., while speaking with a local government councillor. He said that

since receiving word of the crash, the entire Marsh Harbour community has been in a "sombre" mood.

"Everybody knew that family because Abaco Hardware is one of the largest stores in the community. Everyone came in contact with them in the process of a month or two. Nicholas ran for local office and was elected, therefore everyone knew him," he said.

As the men are prominent businessmen in the Marsh Harbour community, Mr. Williams said that the Abaco Hardware business closed shop immediately after hearing the news and the entire island has been in a state of restlessness since early Wednesday morning.

"The community is shocked, and the deaths have more or less, sent a shock wave through the community; two young men moving up in society," he said.

Mr. Williams also said that even though he knew Robin Albury, he was not a close friend or companion to him. However, he was a good friend of Nicholas Albury, who was a local government district councillor on the island.

"He (Nicholas) was a very intelligent and very striving young man. He was an ideal young person in all of his dealings. I think he was really a role model for young people to strive towards and he is going to be very much missed as a councillor and as a young and progressive person in the community," he said.

He said that Robin had visited the administrator's office in Marsh Harbour before traveling to North Carolina.

"We also had a committee meeting last night (Wednesday) and we spoke of Nicholas because he also chairs a special committee that has been appointed to look into the ethnicity of the various groups in the Marsh Harbour area, mainly the plight of the Haitian population; therefore all of this puts us pretty much in a melancholy mood," he stated.

Robin and Nicholas Albury are the eldest and youngest of five sons born to Mollie and Rae Albury (deceased). Sources in the Marsh Harbour community also say that Mrs. Albury lost one of her sons, Adrian, in the 70's, as the result of an accident which occurred while he was pumping gas from a gas truck.

Adrian was a teenager at the time of his death. Mollie's two surviving sons are Darren and Mitchell, who are also co-owners of Abaco Hardware.

Left to mourn the death of Nicholas are his wife Michelle, while Janet (wife) and Joanne (daughter) are mourning the death of Robin and Caitlin. Both men are also nephews of Senator Eddison Key.

The Beech 1900 twin-engine turboprop was reportedly taking off from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in clear, windy weather, when it hit the corner of a hangar at full throttle just before 9:00 a.m.

The airplane burst into flames killing the 19 passengers and two crewmembers onboard.

The cause of the crash, described as the deadliest United States air accident in nearly 14 months, was not immediately clear. The FBI said there was no immediate indication of terrorism.

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the aircraft that crashed had reported service difficulties 10 times. In November, the company reported a leaking fuel pump, which was replaced.

In May, the plane's left main landing gear would not retract as it was taking off; it landed safely and the problem was fixed.

Other problems were minor.

The crash came after a year in which there were no deaths aboard a passenger or cargo airliner in the United States. It had been the third time in a decade that a year went by without a fatality on a commercial plane, according to the FAA.

The last U.S. commercial airline crash was American Airlines Flight 587, which went down in New York on November 12, 2001, killing 265 people.