NBC4 News Helicopter Crash Kills Three In Los Angeles
11 hours ago
Three people are dead after a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 crashed and burst into flames Tuesday evening in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles.
NBC4 identified two of the victims as aerial journalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. Both worked for Angel City Air, the company operating NewsChopper4 for the stations. A third person on the ground was also killed. Two other people were hospitalized following the crash.
The helicopter went down shortly before 7 p.m. between two commercial buildings in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Moreno and Marciniw had been covering another deadly accident nearby involving an SUV and a Metro bus. Several television news helicopters were in the area reporting on that crash when NewsChopper4 went down.
Witnesses described seeing the helicopter behaving unusually shortly before it crashed. One woman told NBC Los Angeles that she and her husband noticed the aircraft swaying before they saw smoke moments later. Authorities have not determined what caused the helicopter to go down.
The impact sparked a fire that damaged four vehicles and two storage containers. More than 70 firefighters responded and quickly extinguished the flames.
NBC4 announced the deaths of Moreno and Marciniw during an emotional live broadcast Tuesday night. The station and Telemundo 52 later released a joint statement expressing condolences to the victims’ families, friends and colleagues.
Moreno, an Orange County native and Chapman University graduate, had worked in aerial news reporting since 2010. She provided breaking-news coverage for both NBC4 and Telemundo 52 and was known to viewers for reporting on everything from wildfires to police pursuits.
Marciniw was a veteran pilot and flight instructor with more than three decades of flying experience. He and Moreno had regularly worked together aboard the news helicopter since 2023.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Tuesday a tragic day for the city, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom offered condolences to the victims’ families and the NBC4 community.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash of the Eurocopter AS350 B2, with investigators expected at the scene Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration is also involved in the investigation.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
NBC4 identified two of the victims as aerial journalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. Both worked for Angel City Air, the company operating NewsChopper4 for the stations. A third person on the ground was also killed. Two other people were hospitalized following the crash.
The helicopter went down shortly before 7 p.m. between two commercial buildings in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Moreno and Marciniw had been covering another deadly accident nearby involving an SUV and a Metro bus. Several television news helicopters were in the area reporting on that crash when NewsChopper4 went down.
Witnesses described seeing the helicopter behaving unusually shortly before it crashed. One woman told NBC Los Angeles that she and her husband noticed the aircraft swaying before they saw smoke moments later. Authorities have not determined what caused the helicopter to go down.
The impact sparked a fire that damaged four vehicles and two storage containers. More than 70 firefighters responded and quickly extinguished the flames.
NBC4 announced the deaths of Moreno and Marciniw during an emotional live broadcast Tuesday night. The station and Telemundo 52 later released a joint statement expressing condolences to the victims’ families, friends and colleagues.
Moreno, an Orange County native and Chapman University graduate, had worked in aerial news reporting since 2010. She provided breaking-news coverage for both NBC4 and Telemundo 52 and was known to viewers for reporting on everything from wildfires to police pursuits.
Marciniw was a veteran pilot and flight instructor with more than three decades of flying experience. He and Moreno had regularly worked together aboard the news helicopter since 2023.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Tuesday a tragic day for the city, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom offered condolences to the victims’ families and the NBC4 community.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash of the Eurocopter AS350 B2, with investigators expected at the scene Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration is also involved in the investigation.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
