CHATSWORTH (CNS) – A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigative team have started what is expected to be a monthslong investigation into the cause of a television news helicopter crash that killed three people and injured two others as the crew was hovering over the scene of a deadly SUV-bus collision.
The crash of NewsChopper4 occurred just before 7 p.m. Tuesday between two commercial buildings at 9151 Mason Ave., near Nordhoff Street, in Chatsworth, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) reported.
Reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw were killed aboard the helicopter, which was operated by Angel City Air and provided news coverage for NBC4 and its Spanish-language sister station, Telemundo 52, NBC4 announced.
Moreno and Marciniw were both employees of Angel City Air.
Former KTLA Sky5 helicopter pilot Tim Lynn described Moreno as a “good friend.” While they were both working for Sky5, whenever he arrived she was always “so full of joy, [even] after a 10-hour shift and getting up at 2 a.m.,” recalled Lynn.
“She was always just positive,” he added. “Very little could get her down and when things happened that were very stressful, she just powered through it and did everything she could to do the best job she could do. … Eliana was just a ray of sunshine.”
A third person died on the ground. That person was identified by the county medical examiner as Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29. Two people on the ground were also injured, LAFD Battalion Chief Rico Gross said.
Moreno and Marciniw were covering the fatal collision between an SUV and Metro bus that left three dead near the site of the helicopter crash.
At an afternoon news briefing Wednesday near the crash scene, NTSB investigator in charge Fabian Salazar said video from the cockpit of the doomed Airbus AS350 B2 helicopter would likely be the most important piece of evidence in the investigation as it captured changes in the chopper’s engine speed and a warning signal being sounded.
The video, posted online, shows the camera zooming out, then several alarms – apparently indicative of an engine failure – can be heard as the chopper begins falling. Moreno can be heard saying, “You can’t pull up?” before the video goes black.
“What we are going to do is get a pristine copy of that recording and send it to our recorder’s lab for a sound spectrum analysis,” Salazar said. “Because 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. So it’s important that we get that recording to our lab so that they can be downloaded and we can get to that factual evidence that way.”
Salazar said the helicopter is not believed to have been equipped with a flight data recorder.
He said investigators were at the scene of the crash Wednesday “gathering as much factual data as we can.” After that, the aircraft wreckage will be moved to a secure facility for further examination.
“That, together with looking at the maintenance logbooks and looking at weather, looking at the pilot’s training, will help us continue with the fact gathering,” he said.
He said investigators will also be seeking out any surveillance video that captured the helicopter going down or the crash. He urged any residents with information regarding the crash to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
Salazar stressed that no conclusions would be reached immediately regarding the cause of the crash, noting that a preliminary report will be issued in about 30 days, “followed by a final report with a probable cause, which, depending on the circumstances of the accident, can go out to about 18 months.”
Moreno, 38, was born in Orange County and graduated from Chapman University in 2010. NBC4 reported she graduated with degrees in broadcast journalism and social sciences.
She joined the Angel City Air helicopter team in September 2010 and reported for several Southern California media outlets. According to her Instagram page, she owned several chickens and dogs, and she got engaged last year.
“She was just such a light, such a spark plug,” NBC4 morning anchor Lynette Romero told the station. “She’s teeny tiny. Tiny, but she had the biggest heart and enthusiasm. It was really contagious.”
Marciniw grew up in Southern California, graduating from Burbank High School in 1974. According to NBC4, he had roughly three decades of flying experience.
“When you thought about NewsChopper4 you thought about George,” NBC4 meteorologist Belen De Leon said in remarks published by the station.
A friend and fellow pilot, Esteban Jimenez, told the station Marciniw was nearing retirement.
“I knew him since the 90s,” he said. “He was my instructor at one time, he was my eyes and ears here in LA. I just cannot believe this.”
The pair began flying together in 2023.
“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,” NBC4 and Telemundo 52 LA said in a statement.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
A worker at a warehouse near the site of the helicopter crash who was in the parking lot at the time of the crash, was taken to a hospital. He was “shaken up more emotionally than physically,” according to “LA Live News Tonight.”
The helicopter crash ignited a fire exposing four vehicles, said Jennifer Middleton of the LAFD. The fire was extinguished. Four automobiles and two storage containers were damaged by the fire, Middleton said.
“I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight,” LA Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement shared on social media. “My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash.
“I’m grateful to the city teams who responded so quickly. Please stay clear of the area as public safety officials remain on scene.”
Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the crash left her “shocked.”
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by today’s tragic helicopter crash involving members of the NBC4 family,” said Barger, whose Fifth District includes Universal City, where NBC4 and Telemundo 52 are based.
“My heart goes out to everyone affected by this devastating loss, especially the families, friends, and colleagues of those who lost their lives. I extend my deepest condolences to the entire NBC4 community during this incredibly difficult time.”
The crash was the second fatal crash involving a helicopter reporting for NBC4. On Aug. 1, 1977, a Bell 206 news helicopter piloted by Francis Gary Powers ran out of fuel and crashed into a field near Encino, killing Powers and the aircraft’s only passenger, cameraman George Spears.
Powers was best known as the pilot of a U-2 spy plane shot down while flying a secret CIA spying mission over the Soviet Union in 1960. Powers was captured and sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet prison for espionage. He served 21 months of his sentence before being released in a prisoner swap in 1962.