An Indian-origin pilot was killed and his newlywed wife suffered injuries after the helicopter they were travelling in to a destination for their honeymoon crashed in Dawson County, Georgia, on Saturday, a day after their wedding and not too far from the marriage venue. The chopper's pilot died too.
Delta Airlines pilot Dave Fiji, whose parents and in-laws are from Kerala, was killed in the crash around 8am on Saturday. Dave and his wife Jesni Sam were off to their honeymoon after the wedding on Friday. While Dave and the chopper's pilot, whose identity was yet to be ascertained, died on the spot, Jesni was thrown into a pile of debris after the crash.
Dave’s parents, Fiji George and Feba, hailed from Moovattupuzha in Ernakulam district of Kerala. The couple had migrated to the US more than two decades ago. Jesni’s parents, Sam Oommen and Sheela Sam, are from Edathua in Alappuzha district of Kerala. They too had migrated to the US a few decades ago.
The two families had arranged the helicopter trip as a wedding gift to the couple. According to reports, the chopper hit a tree because of bad weather, leading to the crash.
An Alappuzha-based journalist told The Telegraph that the couple’s parents had visited Kerala in January for wedding shopping. “The relatives in Alappuzha are in shock and have not reacted to media queries. Dave always wanted to be a pilot since he was 10 years old. Unfortunately, it was another pilot who was flying the chopper.
"Jesni’s parents had arranged from the US a party and prayer session for friends and relatives back home in Alappuzha at the Pentecostal Mission Hall at Thalavadi on Sunday. But at the last moment, the party was cancelled when everyone came to know of the tragedy," the journalist said.
Reports said that the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have started a probe.
“I was just standing there watching my son and admiring him. He looked so handsome,” Atlanta News First Dave’s father, George, as saying. Jesni suffered cuts and bruises, but no bones were broken, the paper reported.