Georgia helicopter crash kills groom and pilot, bride survives

A newlywed groom and a pilot were killed in a helicopter crash in Georgia shortly after the couple’s wedding reception, while the bride survived after being trapped in the wreckage for hours. The groom, 26-year-old Dave Fiji, a first officer for Delta Air Lines, and the pilot, identified by some reports as Nikhil Nargundkar, died when the Robinson R66 helicopter went down in a remote, wooded area near Dawsonville on Friday night.

The couple, Dave Fiji and his wife Jessni, had just celebrated their wedding with approximately 400 guests at The Revere venue. As a special sendoff, they boarded the helicopter bound for DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, with plans to spend the night at a hotel in downtown Atlanta before continuing their honeymoon. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft crashed.

According to Dave Fiji’s father, George, his son had expressed concern about the weather conditions prior to departure, citing poor visibility due to rain and fog. George Fiji stated that his son, an experienced pilot, told the helicopter pilot that under such conditions they would not typically fly. The family was later informed that the pilot planned to climb to a higher altitude to navigate above the...