A Georgia wedding that ended in tragedy in late May is now the center of a wrongful death lawsuit. Jesni Sam and Dave Fiji were married before 400 guests at The Revere in Dawsonville, then boarded a helicopter bound for DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. Five minutes into the flight, the helicopter crashed. Fiji and the pilot were killed, and Sam survived after being trapped beneath her husband’s body for nearly six hours.
The lawsuit names The Revere and operator Prestige Helicopters, alleging the send-off proceeded despite thunderstorm and low-visibility advisories. Sam is represented by Andrew Robb of a Kansas City aviation-accident firm that also represented Vanessa Bryant in the litigation following the 2020 crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others. The parallel has drawn national attention to questions about how much responsibility vendors and charter operators carry when weather turns dangerous.
For those of us on the Suncoast, the story echoes the caution we apply to our own waters and skies. Hurricane season and afternoon squalls are part of life here, and most locals know a captain or a pilot who grounds a trip without hesitation when conditions warrant it. This case may set expectations for how far that duty of care extends.
What do you think? If you hire a vendor or charter for a special event, should checking the weather be their responsibility, or should you as the customer have the final say?
