Groom killed and bride injured when helicopter leaving their wedding crashed: ‘He was a gift from God’

A wedding turned tragic after the bride and groom boarded a helicopter that crashed in rural Georgia.

The groom, identified as 25-year-old Dave Fiji, and the pilot were killed after the helicopter they were on went down Friday evening in Dawson County, Georgia, according to WSB-TV. The bride, identified as Jessni, reportedly survived the crash and is expected to be released from a local hospital in the coming days.

The groom’s father, George, told WSB-TV: “He was a precious child, he was a gift from God for us.”

The couple boarded the helicopter after their wedding and were heading to Peachtree-DeKalb Airport, WSB-TV reports. George told the outlet his son, who was also a pilot, was worried about the fog and rainy weather that evening.

“He said I wouldn’t fly, we would not fly in this visibility,” he said of his son.

As the helicopter went down, it struck tall trees and landed in a “heavily wooded area,” a National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson told The Independent. There was no fire afterward, and investigators have located all of the helicopter’s major components.

“NTSB meteorologists is conducting a weather study to understand the impacts that weather may have had on the flight. Preliminary information shows the potential for rain showers, low-level clouds, and thunderstorms in the vicinity,” the spokesperson said.

The bride, who sustained bruises and cuts, was stuck in the wreckage for hours, George told WSB-TV.

“She said when she woke up, she was under the rubble,” he said. “She woke up and saw him lying on her chest. She herself is a nurse. When she touched him, she called out to him. He was already cold.”

Prestige Helicopters, an Atlanta-based company, owned the helicopter involved in the crash. Andy Whitaker, the director of operations for Prestige Helicopters, told WTOC the incident was unprecedented and that the company kept a spotless flying record for decades.

The pilot, who has not been publicly identified, had taken that same route several times, he added. The Independent has requested comment from Prestige Helicopters.

A spokesperson for the Dawson County Sheriff’s Department told The Independent the agency was dispatched Friday to a “possible downed helicopter,” but did not provide additional details. The NTSB is investigating the incident.

The groom’s mother, Pheba Fiji, told WSB-TV she saw a “special glow and glory” in her son’s face during the wedding.

“Both of them told us they could sense the presence of God at the altar, a tangible presence of God,” she said.