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A helicopter providing news coverage for NBC Los Angeles crashed while it was reporting on a fatal bus collision Tuesday evening, killing the photojournalist and pilot on board and one person on the ground, the station and officials said.
The aircraft crashed in a parking lot near a self-storage facility in the community of Chatsworth, in the San Fernando Valley, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department and news video on the ground from NBC Los Angeles.
NBC Los Angeles identified the victims aboard the helicopter as Angel City Air employees Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist familiar to viewers of the station and its Spanish-language sister station, Telemundo 52, and pilot George Marciniw. Angel City Air operated the helicopter.
The third victim was identified Wednesday as Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29. Fire Capt. Branden Silverman said earlier that the victim appeared to be a pedestrian on the ground.
“We knew it was a news chopper, we knew we’d lost contact with our people out there, and we’ve just received the confirmation that, in fact, NewsChopper4 went down just before 7 o’clock tonight in Chatsworth,” anchor Colleen Williams said on the air Tuesday night.
“We’re going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process and to regroup,” Williams added, her voice becoming emotional.
Lynette Romero, co-anchor of NBCLA’s morning newscast, said they were “heartbroken” and are thinking of the families of Moreno and Marciniw.
“They were both doing what they loved so much, and for me that’s comfort in knowing how happy they were. They loved breaking news, and they loved being in NewsChopper4,” she said Wednesday on NBC’s “TODAY” show.
Angel City Air, which describes itself as “a full-service aerial production company,” did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Three people were dead at the scene, and two others were taken to the hospital, Fire Battalion Chief Rico A. Gross said at a late-night news conference. The conditions of the injured were unavailable.
Zareh Sevanesian, who witnessed the crash, said the helicopter was swaying before it started losing altitude.
“It was just getting lower and lower and lower and lower,” he said on the “TODAY” show.
Moreno was born in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, and graduated from Chapman University with a degree in broadcast journalism and political science in 2010, NBC Los Angeles reported. She joined Angel City Air’s helicopter team the same year and has reported for multiple Southern California news outlets.
Marciniw also grew up in Southern California, where he graduated from Burbank High School, the station said.
NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 issued a joint statement expressing condolences.
“We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 was involved in a fatal accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening,” the stations said. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
The helicopter crash occurred after two people were killed and others were injured in a crash at around 5 p.m. between a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle on Nordhoff Street at De Soto Avenue, officials said.
Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, of Simi Valley, was arrested on suspicion of murder in the crash involving the bus, the Los Angeles Police Department said Wednesday.
Rios was driving her SUV southbound in the northbound lanes of De Soto Avenue when she ran a red light, almost struck a crossing car and then hit the bus, according to the LAPD.
The two dead were adult passengers on the bus, police said. Their names have not been publicly released. One of people hurt had severe injuries, police said.
Bail was set at $4 million and Rios remained in custody Wednesday afternoon, according to jail records. Attempts to locate phone records for a relative who could speak on her behalf were not immediately successful.
The case was forwarded to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for a decision on whether to file charges, police said. The district attorney’s office said Wednesday that the case was under review.
The helicopter was one of multiple aircraft covering the collision.
Fire and police personnel were nearby, said Silverman, the fire captain. They rushed to the crash, reported shortly before 7 p.m., and found the helicopter engulfed in flames, which had spread to nearby parked vehicles, he added.
Sevanesian was driving nearby with his wife, Allyona, when he saw the chopper’s unusual descent.
“As we were driving, I looked over to my left,” he said. “I saw the helicopter — something didn’t look right. And I told my wife, ‘That helicopter is not flying right.’”
Sevanesian said he saw the helicopter gradually losing altitude. Then, he said, he pulled over near the crash as fire roared.
“It was one of the most violent fires I had ever seen,” Sevanesian recalled.
He said he soon found a person down near the wreckage and three others “screaming uncontrollably.”
“It was very terrifying and sad for everyone,” Allyona said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Wednesday that it would be involved in the investigation, which it said the National Transportation Safety Board would lead.
Investigators were at the scene Wednesday morning.
The bureau said in a statement that it was probing the crash “of a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 helicopter in Chatsworth, California.” No cause has been provided and Fabian Salazar, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB, told reporters Wednesday that a preliminary report will be out in 30 days.
Video from inside the chopper moments before the crash will be key in the investigation, he said, and it will be sent off for a sound spectrum analysis.
“In that recording we are clearly hearing sounds that are consistent with the engine changing its speed, and we’re also hearing tones that are being generated that are likely advisories to the pilot,” Salazar said.
The NTSB is also asking for any witnesses with video to send it in to help investigators determine what happened.
Speaking near the scene Tuesday night, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said it was “a heartbreaking night for our city.” She praised first responders for their quick reaction and expressed grief over those who were killed in the bus collision and the aircraft crash.
“We lost five Angelenos today,” she said, “and my heart certainly goes out to the family and friends of all of those that we lost.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also thanked first responders and offered condolences in a statement on X.
“Our hearts are with the victims and families of tonight’s devastating Metro bus and helicopter crashes in Chatsworth, and with the entire NBC4 family,” he said.
Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
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