Inset: Dave Fiji and Jesni Sam. Background: Scene of helicopter crash that killed Fiji and injured Sam after their wedding (WAGA).
A Georgia woman's dream wedding turned into a tragic and deadly nightmare after the couple's post-ceremony helicopter ride crashed, killing her new husband and seriously injuring her.
Jesni Sam filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit in DeKalb County State Court on behalf of herself and her late husband Dave Fiji against Prestige Helicopters Inc. and The Revere wedding venue.
Fiji and Sam wed on May 29 at The Revere in Dawsonville, which is about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta. The venue offered a "Helicopter Send-Off" from its helipad located on the property.
But the venue and helicopter company decided to take off "despite dangerous and deteriorating weather conditions," the lawsuit said.
"Within minutes after departing, the helicopter crashed among the trees in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area," the lawsuit states.
Fiji and the pilot, Nikhil Nargundkar, died. Sam survived, but she was trapped in 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 lawyers write.
Sam suffered "profound physical injuries" including permanent scarring and headaches.
Plaintiff lawyers from Missouri-based Robb & Robb argued that the tragedy was "utterly preventable" and the defendants acted negligently when they failed to "account for dangerous weather conditions." The National Weather Service issued an alert noting there were thunderstorms in the area, low clouds and fog, which the pilot failed to consider, per the suit.
The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined an official cause of the crash, but said there were no known mechanical issues with the aircraft and noted the poor weather conditions.
Fiji, a pilot himself, questioned Nargundkar about the low visibility, according to his mother, Phebah Fiji, who spoke to local Fox affiliate WAGA. But Nargundkar was confident that it wouldn't be 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 specializes in aviation law and represented Kobe Bryant's family in a lawsuit after a crash killed him, his daughter and several others in 2020, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Prestige Helicopters and The Revere did not immediately return messages from Law&Crime seeking 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, 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."