Three people died on Tuesday evening when an NBC4 news helicopter operated by Angel City Air crashed in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles. The tragedy occurred as the aircraft covered a deadly bus collision, prompting swift tributes from city and state leaders as federal investigators opened inquiries into the cause.
A routine aerial news assignment turned catastrophic on Tuesday just before 7 p.m. local time, when an Angel City Air-operated helicopter providing coverage for NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 went down in the Chatsworth neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. The crash occurred between two commercial buildings in the 9100 block of Mason Avenue.
Victims Identified as Journalist and Pilot
Authorities and the stations confirmed that the crash claimed the lives of reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw, who began flying together in 2023. A pedestrian on the ground, identified by the coroner’s office as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, also died at the scene.
Moreno, 38, graduated from Chapman University in 2010 with a double degree in broadcast journalism and social science, according to university spokesman Bob Hitchcock. Known professionally on social media as Eli in the heli
, she reported for multiple Southern California news outlets and joined Angel City Air’s helicopter team the same year she graduated.
Marciniw was a 1974 graduate of Burbank High School and is believed to have had more than 30 years of flight experience. Colleagues remembered him as a professional who was nearing retirement.
Belen De Leon, KNBC meteorologist, noted that when you thought about NewsChopper4 you thought about George.
Witness Accounts and Audio Point to Sudden Altitude Loss
The helicopter was in the area to cover a separate, major traffic collision involving a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle that had left three dead hours earlier. As aerial crews transmitted footage of that site, the news chopper began losing altitude.
Zareh Sevanesian, a witness at the scene, told NBC’s TODAY show that the aircraft was swaying before the descent, adding that it just kept getting lower and lower and lower and lower. Audio recordings captured shortly before the impact included a voice asking the pilot, What? Can’t you recover?
Veteran pilot and former aerial journalist Zoey Tur analyzed flight images and audio, stating that an audible low-rotor RPM alarm pointed toward a potential mechanical failure combined with a loss of engine power.
Fire Response and Immediate Leadership Reactions
Upon impact, the aircraft became fully engulfed in flames, damaging four vehicles and two storage containers in a parking area near a commercial building. More than 70 firefighters responded, quickly bringing the blaze under control.
City and state leaders expressed deep grief over the dual tragedies unfolding in Chatsworth on the same evening. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass addressed reporters late Tuesday.
This is a heartbreaking night for our city, and my thoughts and prayers are first and foremost with the families and loved ones that we lost today. Our hearts are with those impacted by the bus collision and the helicopter crash, and with the entire community who lost members of their team while they were doing their job. Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles
California Governor Gavin Newsom also thanked first responders for working tirelessly through the night across the separate disaster zones.
Federal Investigation and Ongoing Inquiries
Joint statements from NBC4 and Telemundo 52 offered condolences to the families, friends, and newsroom colleagues mourning the crew. Inside the station, morning anchors shared emotional tributes with viewers while processing the sudden loss of their peers.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have assumed responsibility for investigating the cause of the crash. No final determinations regarding the mechanical or environmental factors leading to the accident have been released.