Ronnie Ronalde, the group operations manager for CPG Hotel Group, describes the "horrible" crash with the bride and groom on board. Video / George Heard
It was meant to be the happiest day of their lives - but soon after they tied the knot, Christchurch newly-weds Fay El Hanafy and Mahdi Zougub were lying in the wreckage of a helicopter they had hired to document their happiness.
On June 12, shortly after their wedding ceremonyat Terrace Downs Golf Resort in Mid Canterbury, the couple boarded a Robinson R44 helicopter.
Alongside them and the pilot was photographer Rachel Jordan, who had travelled down from her Northland home to capture the special day on camera.
Moments after take-off, the helicopter's engine lost power and it plunged into the ground.
Almost a month later El Hanafy spoke about her ordeal.
She said she remembers holding her new husband's hand and looking out the window of the helicopter.
She heard Jordan ask the pilot why the engine was not working and the next thing she knew she was lying in the mangled aircraft looking over at her husband.
His face was bloodied and she wasn't sure if he was even alive.
"All I remember is that I was screaming and saying, 'please tell me it's a nightmare, please tell me I'm dreaming'," she told Stuff.
"It was all perfect, and then all of a sudden I'm in a crashed helicopter.
"This is not what I was expecting on our wedding day, and I'm just like, what is this? Is it a wedding day or a nightmare?"
Stuff reported that couple were engaged for two and a half years.
They had been forced to postpone their big day because of the 2019 Christchurch terror attack, and then because of Covid-19.
El Hanafy said she was desperate for the day to be "perfect" and had thought of "a million things" that could go wrong on the day.
"I wanted everything to go perfect. I thought about millions of things that could go wrong on the day.
Fay El Hanafy and Mahdi Zougub married at Terrace Downs on June 12. Soon after, the helicopter they were having wedding photos taken in crashed. Photo / Givealittle
"The worst thing I thought would happen was that I would fall or something would go wrong during our first dance, but not a helicopter crash," she mused.
The couple exchanged vows in a small ceremony at about 1.30pm.
They had photos taken before boarding the helicopter.
El Hanafy told Stuff she was "nervous" about flying but had been "comforted" by the pilot.
"I felt like even if I was a little bit scared from the flight, it's fine, it's worth it for me because I'm going to have these beautiful photos that I will remember forever," she said.
As the aircraft took off she held her new husband's hand and as the stunning views came into sight she told him " I'm not scared any more".
Late last month he had spinal stabilisation and decompression of vertebrae surgery in the lumber spine.
He has ongoing sciatic nerve damage, injuries to both knees from the impact, lung and chest bruises.
El Hanafy has also had spinal stabilisation and decompression of vertebrae surgery.
On June 24 a friend wrote online she also had a tail bone surgery, concussion, three levels of back fracture, a sternum fracture, and four broken ribs that resulted in difficulty breathing and caused a chest infection.
She also has a heel joint fracture which requires a surgery once the chest infection is controlled.
A Givealittle page has raised more than $13,000 for the couple to have another wedding when they are well enough.
"Whenever I think of the day I try to think about the things I enjoyed, such as getting ready with my family and also just thinking about the ceremony and the moment that my husband saw me and I saw him," El Hanafy told Stuff.
An investigation into the June 12 helicopter crash is ongoing. Photo / George Heard
"It was such a beautiful moment, it was very lovely, and it was full of emotions and full of love."
Last week the Herald revealed photographer Rachel Jordan was now in hospital in Auckland, closer to her family's home in the Far North.
Jordan was transferred to Middlemore Hospital from Christchurch on a specialist medical flight.
The pilot has been moved to Burwood Hospital in Christchurch, which has a specialist spinal unit.
The Civil Aviation Authority and helicopter owners Wyndon Aviation are both investigating the cause of the crash.
