A Georgia bride who survived a horrifying helicopter crash just minutes after leaving her wedding says she spent nearly six hours trapped in the wreckage beneath the body of the man she had married only hours earlier.
Now, months after the May 29 tragedy, Jesni Sam is suing the helicopter operator and the wedding venue, alleging the deadly flight should never have taken off because of deteriorating weather.
Sam filed the wrongful-death and negligence lawsuit Sept. 22 in DeKalb County State Court on her own behalf and on behalf of the estate of her husband, Dave Fiji. The complaint names Prestige Helicopters Inc., The Revere LLC and Revere Group LLC as defendants. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Sam and Fiji had married earlier that day at The Revere, a wedding venue near Dawsonville, Georgia.
At the end of their celebration, the newlyweds climbed aboard a Robinson R66 helicopter for what was supposed to be a dramatic send-off from the venue and a flight to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport near Atlanta.
Instead, the flight lasted only about five minutes.
Federal flight-tracking data cited by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the helicopter departed the wedding venue at roughly 9:45 p.m. Investigators said the aircraft later struck tall trees along rising terrain inside the heavily wooded Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area.
Fiji, 25, and pilot Nikhil Nargundkar were killed.
Sam survived with serious injuries.
According to her lawsuit, she was pinned inside the mangled wreckage beneath her husband’s body for nearly six hours as rescuers struggled to locate and reach the remote crash site.
The ordeal was every bit as difficult as the remote location suggests.
Dispatch records reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show authorities received a 911 call about a possible helicopter crash at approximately 10:10 p.m. A drone detected heat signatures about 90 minutes later.
Deputies then entered the woods on foot.
During the search, one deputy heard what appeared to be a woman yelling for help. Rescuers eventually reached Sam and freed her shortly before 3 a.m. after cutting through a seat belt that had trapped her inside the aircraft.
The lawsuit says Sam suffered injuries to her hip, leg, neck, fingers, arm and abdomen, along with headaches, dizziness, balance problems and extensive scarring. It also alleges she has suffered lasting emotional and psychological effects from the crash.
Her attorneys argue the tragedy was preventable.
The lawsuit alleges Prestige Helicopters and the companies behind The Revere failed to adequately account for the worsening weather and should have canceled the flight.
Federal investigators have not reached that conclusion.
The NTSB has not yet determined the probable cause of the crash, and its preliminary report specifically cautioned against drawing conclusions before the investigation is complete. But information gathered by investigators confirms that challenging weather conditions were present around the time of the flight.
Weather modeling reviewed by the NTSB showed the possibility of rain and fog, with a cloud ceiling as low as roughly 200 feet above ground level and overcast conditions around 600 feet.
National Weather Service radar also showed the helicopter near an area of moderate rain when it crashed.
And less than an hour before the flight, an aviation weather advisory warned of embedded thunderstorms moving toward North Georgia.
At a reporting station approximately 14 miles from the crash, visibility was down to about two miles amid moderate rain and mist shortly after the accident.
Those findings are likely to become a major part of the legal fight.
The lawsuit alleges the pilot failed to properly evaluate the weather, cancel the departure or abort the flight when visibility deteriorated. It also accuses Prestige Helicopters of failing to adequately train or supervise its pilots and of failing to establish sufficient procedures for canceling flights in dangerous weather.
The venue companies are accused of arranging and promoting the helicopter send-off without having adequate weather-cancellation and safety procedures in place.
Fiji’s family had raised questions about the conditions almost immediately after the accident.
His mother, Phebah Fiji, previously told FOX 5 Atlanta that there had initially been discussion about calling off the flight because of the weather.
She said the pilot ultimately appeared confident the trip could be made despite the rain.
Fiji had aviation experience himself. His family said he worked as a pilot for Endeavor Air and had expressed concern about visibility before boarding the helicopter.
One significant detail in the federal investigation could also receive attention as the lawsuit progresses.
The NTSB said its examination found no anomalies involving the helicopter’s airframe or engine that investigators believe contributed to the collision. The helicopter nevertheless suffered substantial damage when it hit the trees and terrain.
That does not establish why the helicopter crashed, however. The NTSB is continuing its investigation, and no final probable-cause report has been released.
Sam’s lawsuit seeks damages for medical costs, rehabilitation, pain and suffering, permanent scarring and other losses. Fiji’s estate is also seeking damages connected to his death, including lost income, funeral expenses and loss of companionship.
No specific dollar amount is listed. The complaint asks a jury to determine the damages.
Sam is being represented by aviation law firm Robb & Robb, which previously represented Vanessa Bryant in litigation stemming from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, their 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.
Attorney Andrew Robb said Sam went from celebrating what should have been one of the happiest moments of her life to enduring an almost unimaginable tragedy.
Her lawsuit, he said, is intended to obtain answers about what happened and prevent another couple from experiencing a similar disaster.
Neither Prestige Helicopters nor the companies behind The Revere had publicly responded to the lawsuit when local outlets contacted them following the filing.
For now, the lawsuit and the federal aviation investigation are proceeding separately.
The civil case will attempt to determine whether negligence played a role and whether the defendants should be held financially responsible. The NTSB, meanwhile, will ultimately determine what investigators believe caused the helicopter to crash.
Until that federal investigation is finished, one of the biggest questions surrounding the tragedy remains unanswered: why a wedding-night helicopter flight that began amid rain, low clouds and approaching thunderstorms ended in the trees just five minutes after takeoff.
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