Three Killed When NBC4 News Helicopter Crashes in Chatsworth
A NBC4 news helicopter crashed near a Metro bus accident in Chatsworth, killing reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and a third person on the ground. Officials and station representatives confirmed the deaths and expressed condolences.
NBC4 reported that its News Chopper 4 went down shortly after 7 p.m. on Tuesday near the 9100 block of Mason Avenue in Chatsworth, killing reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and a third person on the ground. The crash occurred while the crew was covering a separate Metro bus collision nearby.
Veteran anchor Colleen Williams announced the confirmation of the crash during the station’s live broadcast, saying the team had lost contact with the helicopter earlier in the evening. The station later identified Moreno, a Chapman University graduate who had been flying in news helicopters since 2010, and Marciniw, a longtime Southern-California resident, as the two crew members who died.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, City Councilmember John Lee and Fire Captain Rico Gross held a news conference at the crash site, offering condolences to the victims’ families and the broader news community.
"Members of our local news community … came here to do their jobs and experienced a profound tragedy of their own," Horvath said.
NBC4 confirmed that the helicopter was operated by Angel City Air. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that the third fatality was a person on the ground near the crash site.
The incident added to a history of news-gathering helicopter accidents in the region, including previous crashes involving other stations. No cause for the crash has been released pending investigation.