Inset: Dave Fiji and Jesni Sam. Background: The helicopter crash that killed Fiji and injured Sam after their wedding (WAGA).
A Georgia bride’s wedding celebration ended in tragedy when a helicopter flight taken shortly after the ceremony crashed, killing her new husband and leaving her seriously injured.
Jesni Sam has filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit in DeKalb County State Court on behalf of herself and her late husband, Dave Fiji. The lawsuit names Prestige Helicopters Inc. and The Revere wedding venue as defendants.
Fiji and Sam were married May 29 at The Revere in Dawsonville, roughly 60 miles northeast of Atlanta. The venue promoted a “Helicopter Send-Off” departing from a helipad on the property.
According to the lawsuit, the venue and helicopter operator proceeded with the flight “despite dangerous and deteriorating weather conditions.”
The helicopter crashed into trees in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area within minutes of taking off, the lawsuit states.
Fiji and the pilot, Nikhil Nargundkar, were killed in the crash. Sam survived but was trapped inside the “mangled wreckage.”
“For nearly six hours, Jesni remained trapped in the rubble, with the deceased corpse of the man she had married only hours earlier lying on top of her,” her attorneys wrote.
Sam sustained “profound physical injuries,” including permanent scarring and recurring headaches, according to the lawsuit.
Attorneys with Missouri-based Robb & Robb described the crash as “utterly preventable” and alleged that the defendants failed to properly account for the hazardous weather. The suit says the National Weather Service had issued an alert warning of thunderstorms, low clouds and fog in the area—conditions the pilot allegedly failed to consider.
The National Transportation Safety Board has not issued an official determination on the cause of the crash. However, the agency said it was not aware of any mechanical problems with the aircraft and noted the adverse weather conditions.
Dave Fiji was a pilot himself and reportedly questioned Nargundkar about the limited visibility, according to Fiji’s mother, Phebah Fiji, who spoke with local Fox affiliate WAGA. Nargundkar reportedly expressed confidence that the weather would not pose a problem.
“With [Nargundkar’s] confidence, and since Dave doesn’t fly helicopters, he went with his perspective … since it’s just a 20- to 25-minute flight,” Phebah Fiji told the TV station.
Robb & Robb focuses on aviation litigation and previously represented Kobe Bryant’s family in a lawsuit stemming from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed Bryant, his daughter and several others, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Prestige Helicopters and The Revere did not immediately respond to messages from Law&Crime requesting comment.
“In a matter of minutes, Jesni went from celebrating the happiest day of her life to experiencing something almost impossible to comprehend,” Andrew Robb, a partner at Robb & Robb, said in a statement to local ABC affiliate WSB. “Jesni’s lawsuit seeks answers and accountability for what happened to her and her husband, and she will fight to ensure that no newlywed couple ever suffers anything like this again.”
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