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A Georgia groom and a helicopter pilot were reportedly killed Friday night in a harrowing wedding night sendoff crash that left the surviving widow trapped for six hours later with her dead husband on top of her.
Newlywed wife Jesni Fiji, knocked out from the tragic crash and reportedly surviving with no broken bones and just cuts and bruises, awoke Saturday morning in shock and horror over what surrounded her, including her new husband Dave Fiji’s body, the groom’s father told Atlanta News First (ANF).
“She was crying on the phone: What happened? What happened?” George Fiji told ANF, recounting the tragedy with Jesni recovering in a metro Atlanta hospital. “I didn’t know what she was talking about.”
The fateful Robinson R66 helicopter sendoff for the young first officer for Endeavor Air and his wife crashed in a wooded area in northern Georgia on Friday night. They were bound for DeKalb-Peachtree Airport to take the newlyweds to an Atlanta-area hotel after their wedding celebration.
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A newlywed couple was aboard a helicopter that crashed in Dawson County, Georgia, after leaving their wedding celebration Friday night. The pilot and groom, Dave Fiji in inset image, were killed. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect | Endeavor Air)
“She said when she woke up she saw my son Dave resting on her bosom,” George Fiji said. “She saw blood on him, and by then his body was completely cold. She’s a nurse, so she knew he was gone.
“She’s devastated, but she’s recovering,” he added.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and has not determined what caused the helicopter to go down near The Revere, a Dawsonville, Georgia, wedding venue hosting about 400 guests, according to the report.
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“It took them awhile to locate the helicopter itself,” George Fiji said.
The aircraft went down on a 10,000-acre tract owned by the City of Atlanta and managed by the state as a wildlife management area.
The weather reportedly was tricky with rain, but the helicopter pilot told the newlyweds they would fly at a higher altitude, according to the father.
Dave Fiji’s wedding night sendoff turned tragic and claimed his life. (Endeavor Air)
“Since my son was a pilot, he told the pilot that there is zero visibility and when there is zero visibility like this, we never fly,” George Fiji said, recalling the exchange through his now widowed daughter-in-law.
Dave Fiji had wanted to fly since he was 10 and became a first officer for Delta Air Lines’ Endeavor Air, planning a dramatic wedding sendoff that turned tragic.
“My son was so happy,” George Fiji said.
Endeavor Air issued its condolences for Fiji, who started with Endeavor in March 2025 and was based in Atlanta.
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Endeavor Air is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Endeavor First Officer Dave Fiji,” it wrote in a statement to its employees. “Dave tragically lost his life in a helicopter accident on Friday, May 29, shortly after celebrating his wedding.
“The loss of a colleague and friend is deeply felt, and we know this news may be especially difficult for those who knew and worked alongside him.”
Dave and Jesni met through church connections between South Carolina and Georgia, according to the grief-stricken father who described them as “friends who decided to become life partners.”
“I was just standing there watching my son and admiring him,” he said of the wedding. “He looked so handsome.”
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As the family mourns, George Fiji told ANF their Christian faith has helped them face a wedding night that turned from celebration to catastrophe within hours.
“Without God there would be many questions — why?” he said. “God granted us a perfect wedding, and within a few hours everything changed into tragedy. The only place we can find answers and peace is in God.”