{"id":3281,"date":"2026-06-02T15:01:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3281"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:01:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:01:28","slug":"groom-pilot-killed-in-georgia-helicopter-crash-bride-injured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3281","title":{"rendered":"Groom, pilot killed in Georgia helicopter crash; bride injured"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAWSON COUNTY, Ga.<\/strong> – <\/span>A couple who had just celebrated their wedding were among the three people aboard a helicopter that crashed in Dawson County Friday night, according to family members.<\/p>

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ORIGINAL STORY: Helicopter crashed with 3 on board in Dawson County<\/strong><\/p>

Newlyweds among victims in helicopter crash<\/h2>
<\/div>

What we know:<\/p>

The victims have been identified as Dave Fiji and his bride, Jesni Fiji.\u00a0<\/p>

Dave’s mother confirmed their identities to FOX 5 Atlanta. Dave died in the crash, while Jesni was injured.\u00a0<\/p>

The third person on board was the pilot, who was identified as Nikhil Nargundkar by the Dawson County coroner. Nargundkar also died as a result of the crash.\u00a0<\/p>

The newlyweds were reportedly leaving their wedding celebration when the helicopter went down.<\/p>

Leaning on faith<\/h2>

What they’re saying:<\/p>

Fiji’s family told FOX 5 Atlanta that they assumed everything was okay once the newlyweds boarded the helicopter after their wedding. Over the next few hours, the family said everything started falling apart.\u00a0<\/p>

“It was a beautiful wedding and a perfect wedding,” said Fiji George, Dave’s father.\u00a0<\/p>

Fiji said he tried calling his son, but became concerned when he didn’t receive a reply.\u00a0<\/p>

“We were trying to reach Dave, we texted him, called him so many times we didn’t get any response after the helicopter was sent off,” Fiji explained.\u00a0<\/p>

Dave’s parents said that the helicopter ride was a part of the couple’s wedding package.\u00a0<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n

Dave and Jesni Fiji. Courtesy of family<\/span> <\/p> <\/div><\/div>

“Initially, it was going to be called off because of weather concerns; however, when the chopper came in, the pilot was very confident that it wouldn’t be an issue, even though it had started raining,” said Phebah Fiji, Dave’s mother.\u00a0<\/p>

Phebah said her son worked as a pilot for Endeavor Air and raised concerns about low visibility.\u00a0<\/p>

“With his confidence, and since Dave doesn’t fly helicopters, you know, he went with his perspective of being able to make them, since it’s just a 20- to 25-minute flight data takeoff,” Phebah explained.\u00a0<\/p>

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Dave’s wife, Jesni, was also on board when the plane crashed and remains hospitalized.\u00a0<\/p>

“She’s devastated, but slowly, slowly she’s getting better,” Fiji said.\u00a0The family says they are leaning on their faith as they mourn their son.\u00a0<\/p>

“Our job was to bring him up in the ways of God. I believe God has given us grace to do that. And when he saw him fit, he took him home,” Fiji said.\u00a0<\/p>

Crash under federal investigation<\/h2>

What we know:<\/p>

The Robinson R66 helicopter crashed in a wooded area near Dawsonville around 10:35 p.m. Friday.<\/p>

Emergency crews from the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and local fire and EMS agencies responded to reports of a downed aircraft and secured the scene. Crime scene tape and law enforcement vehicles surrounded the crash site as investigators began documenting evidence.<\/p>

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and dispatched an investigator to the scene.<\/p>

The NTSB released new details on Monday, stating the helicopter hit some tall trees in a wooded area before crashing to the ground. There was no fire after the impact.\u00a0<\/p>

What investigators are examining<\/h2>

What’s next:<\/p>

Federal investigators will inspect the wreckage, review air traffic control communications, radar data, weather conditions, maintenance records and the pilot’s background as they work to determine what caused the crash.<\/p>

The NTSB is also seeking information from potential witnesses and anyone who may have surveillance or video footage related to the incident.<\/p>

The Fiji family is in the planning stages of Dave’s funeral and expects Jesni to be released from the hospital soon.\u00a0<\/p>

Read more Jury finds South Carolina store owner not guilty in fatal shooting of Black teen<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bride and groom leaving their wedding were among three people aboard a helicopter that crashed in Dawson County.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-instastories","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nGroom, pilot killed in Georgia helicopter crash; bride injured - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3281\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Groom, pilot killed in Georgia helicopter crash; bride injured - Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A bride and groom leaving their wedding were among three people aboard a helicopter that crashed in Dawson County.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3281\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-02T15:01:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ec4aa8985b7a4b794982ab504af07224.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"932\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"524\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=3281#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=3281\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"headline\":\"Groom, pilot killed in Georgia helicopter crash; 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