'I closed my eyes and then the helicopter hit the ground': Groom recalls wedding day crash

Tuesday, 13 July 2021

A bride and groom, photographer and pilot were injured when a helicopter crashed on a golf course in rural Canterbury. (First published June 12, 2021)

With his wife passed out beside him, her hand no longer firm, Mahdi Zougub closed his eyes as the helicopter crashed into the ground.

When he opened his eyes seconds later, his face bleeding from the shards of a bottle of sparkling water and some glasses, he turned to his wife and saw she was still unconscious.

Zougub realised his wife was still alive, but his back was broken and he was unable to reach her. A group of golfers arrived moments later to rescue them.

Zougub, 24, and his fiancée, Fay El Hanafy, 23, had already postponed their wedding several times – once due to the March 15 terror attack, and then because of Covid-19.

* Pilot involved in Canterbury helicopter crash suffered spinal injuries

* Model of helicopter involved in wedding crash had suffered power failures before

* Helicopter suffered 'total power loss' prior to crash

Newlyweds Fay El Hanafy and Mahdi Zougub had their June 12 wedding day cut short when their helicopter crashed. Both were seriously injured.

* Wedding photographer who hates flying recounts moment helicopter plummeted to ground

About 1.30pm on June 12, the couple married in an intimate ceremony in front of family at Canterbury’s Terrace Downs Golf Resort.

This photo was taken by wedding photographer Rachel Jordan shortly before the helicopter she was in crashed at Terrace Downs.

After taking some group photographs and enjoying canapés the helicopter arrived.

Zougub had not flown in a helicopter before and was nervous. He felt scared as soon as he heard the machine start up.

About 30 seconds into the flight he saw award-winning photographer Rachel Jordan look at the pilot, Lynda Harrap, and ask what was wrong.

“She was pretty scared and freaking out and then all I heard was a beeping noise coming from the cockpit,” he said, speaking publicly for the first time on Tuesday.

Four people from a wedding have been injured in a helicopter crash near Windwhistle, in the Canterbury high country.It appears they were part of a wedding party at the Terrace Downs Golf Resort.

“Then the helicopter started slowing going down … the first thing that came to mind ‘is disaster is about to happen’.”

Zougub prayed they would all survive and looked at his new wife, who had passed out. He was holding her hand, but it was no longer firm.

He estimated the drop took between 10 and 15 seconds.

“I couldn’t really see in front of me. I only saw the ground getting closer and closer.

“I closed my eyes and then the helicopter hit the ground … it felt like you’ve been hit by a truck.”

He immediately felt short of breath and “almost couldn't breathe”.

“I tried to get up, but I couldn’t because of the pain. I didn’t really know what to do.”

Jordan took this photo from the helicopter shortly before it crashed at Terrace Downs.

He tried to move his limbs to make sure they were all working and looked at El Hanafy, who was still unconscious.

“I tried to talk to her … but she wasn’t responding, but I knew that she was alive.”

Zougub’s face was covered in blood from cuts caused by a broken sparkling water bottle and glasses, which had been thrown out of a basket inside the helicopter.

Evan Jordan gives his mother, Rachel Jordan, a kiss before she gets an MRI. Jordan, a wedding photographer, was injured in the helicopter crash at Terrace Downs.

The golfers eventually got him out of the wreckage, and he called the last number in his phone log, which was for El Hanafy’s father, and told him what had happened.

“He didn’t believe it at the start, but I was in a lot of pain, so I passed it on to one of the golfers.”

He said he asked the pilot what happened, and she replied she did not know. He was initially unhappy when the golfers said a helicopter was on the way and as he did not want to go in another one.

When the paramedics arrived, they gave him painkillers and said a helicopter was the safest and fastest way to get to hospital, which he accepted.

Zougub spent two weeks in hospital before being discharged. He suffered a broken back, while El Hanafy broke her back, sternum, ribs, and foot. She required surgery on her foot to be able to walk properly again.

The last month had been “horrible”, and he had experienced recurring nightmares.

“Sleeping at night is a big problem; I’ve always got that internal feeling of falling, like getting dropped from somewhere.

“We are quite traumatised, both of us.”

He still suffered pain in his right leg and his back, but was able to walk and visited El Hanafy in hospital every day. The couple had discussed having another wedding reception, but were focused on their recovery for now.

“We’re both pleased that we’re still together, still alive. That’s the most important part.”

The owner of the helicopter, Wyndon Aviation, earlier said the crash investigation was in its early stages, but it had been established the engine suffered a “total power loss shortly after take off”.

The company had done an internal investigation, including a review of the data and other evidence gathered by independent helicopter pilot Simon Spencer-Bower.

In a statement released by the company, he said Harrap’s actions were a “great example of a professional pilot flying by the book”.