A nurse who survived a fatal wedding-night helicopter crash in Georgia has sued the venue that arranged the send-off and the company that operated the aircraft, alleging they failed to properly evaluate worsening weather and were negligent in allowing the flight to go ahead. Her husband, Dave Fiji, 25, and the pilot were killed when the helicopter went down on May 29, hours after the couple exchanged vows.
Lawyers for Jesni Sam, a nurse, filed a complaint for damages on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in DeKalb County, naming three defendants: Prestige Helicopters Inc., The Revere LLC and Revere Group LLC. Sam is suing individually and on behalf of the estate of her husband, who was killed in the crash along with the pilot, Nikhil Nargundkar, 28. The suit was filed nearly four months after the crash.
Nargundkar is not named as a defendant. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Andrew Robb, a partner at Robb & Robb LLC, said in a statement: “In a matter of minutes, Jesni went from celebrating the happiest day of her life to experiencing something almost impossible to comprehend.”
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The suit claims the flight should never have taken place in dangerous weather. It also faults the venue for lacking proper safety standards and any plan to call off the flight when conditions deteriorated, even though the helicopter lifted off from a helipad on the property.
The complaint alleges Nargundkar failed to adequately monitor and assess the weather before departure and failed to abort despite low clouds, reduced visibility and rain. It accuses Prestige Helicopters of inadequate pilot training and supervision and of failing to establish sufficient procedures for canceling flights in unsafe weather. Sam’s attorneys contend the crash could have been prevented and grew out of a series of failures by those who put the couple in the air.
Robb said the lawsuit is Sam’s effort to obtain answers and accountability for what happened to her and her husband, and that she intends to press for changes so no other newlywed couple endures the same thing.
Robb & Robb LLC is Kansas City-based. The firm previously represented Vanessa Bryant in litigation over the helicopter crash that killed her husband, NBA star Kobe Bryant, their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and several others.
The Night of the Crash
About 400 guests attended the ceremony and reception at The Revere, a luxury wedding and events venue in Dawsonville, Ga., which wrapped up around 9:30 p.m. The venue arranged the “Helicopter Send-Off,” and Atlanta-based Prestige Helicopters operated the aircraft, a Robinson R66. The newlyweds were to fly to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in DeKalb County and spend the night at a downtown Atlanta hotel.
Rain and fog rolled in ahead of the departure, and Dave Fiji questioned whether the flight should happen at all. George Fiji, the groom’s father, told WSB-TV of his son’s doubts: “He said I wouldn’t fly, we would not fly in this visibility.” Sam later told her father-in-law that the pilot said they would fly at a higher altitude.
The National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report puts the crash at approximately 9:50 p.m. The helicopter came down only minutes after takeoff, in a heavily wooded area not far from the venue. Neighbors said it crashed on a 10,000-acre tract owned by the City of Atlanta and managed by the state as a wildlife management area.
The Dawson County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to a report of a possible downed helicopter, and searchers needed time to pinpoint the wreckage, George Fiji said. Sam was pinned in the debris for nearly six hours before rescuers reached her, her father-in-law said. She regained consciousness beneath the wreckage with her husband lying against her chest, he said, and recognized as a nurse that he had already died.
The lawsuit describes Sam’s injuries as “serious injuries.” As of June 1, she was recovering at a metro Atlanta hospital and was expected to be released within days.
What Investigators Have Said
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation. Early evidence indicated the helicopter struck tall trees before hitting terrain in the wooded area, the agency has said. There was no post-crash fire, and investigators accounted for all of the aircraft’s major components.
As of June 1, an NTSB spokesperson said the agency’s meteorologists were conducting a weather study of the flight, and that preliminary information pointed to the potential for rain showers, low-level clouds and thunderstorms in the vicinity.
The preliminary report, released in late June, found no pre-impact problems with the aircraft and pointed to rain and possible thunderstorms, but did not determine a probable cause. It documented a cloud ceiling near 200 feet above ground level, overcast clouds at about 600 feet, rain and fog, and an aviation weather advisory indicating embedded thunderstorms in the region.
Investigators said the pilot had passed all required flight tests and safety checks and was qualified to fly the helicopter. Records show Nargundkar earned his instrument helicopter rating in 2023, later received his commercial pilot certificate, and completed training and proficiency checks on the Robinson R44 and R66 in September 2025.
Andy Whitaker, director of operations for Prestige Helicopters, told WTOC the crash was unprecedented for the company, which he said had maintained a spotless flying record for decades. The pilot, he added, had flown that same route several times.
The NTSB says the investigation remains open. Probable cause and any contributing factors will be detailed in a final report expected in 12 to 24 months.
A Pilot and His Bride
The couple met more than a decade before the wedding, through church connections between South Carolina and Georgia. Dave Fiji had dreamt of flying since he was 10 years old and was working as a first officer for Endeavor Air, a Delta Air Lines subsidiary.
