A News Helicopter Went Down While Covering a Deadly Crash — What Happened Next Was Even More Shocking
Los Angeles was already dealing with one deadly crash when another tragedy unfolded just a few blocks away.
17 September 2026 · 3 min read
A local NBC4 and Telemundo 52 news helicopter was in the air covering a fatal collision involving an SUV and a Metro bus in Chatsworth when the helicopter itself suddenly went down and burst into flames.
Three people were killed in the helicopter crash, including reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and a man on the ground.
And the timing made the whole situation feel almost impossible to believe.
The area was already full of emergency crews
Earlier that day, authorities say an SUV slammed into a Los Angeles Metro bus.
The collision killed two men and injured several others. Police later arrested 36-year-old Bailee Lynn Rios on murder charges. Authorities allege she had been driving the wrong way, ran a red light, and hit the bus.
By the evening, the area was crowded with police, firefighters, reporters, and news helicopters covering the aftermath.
Then, around 7 p.m., another emergency erupted.
NBC4 suddenly lost contact with its own crew
The NBC4 helicopter had been providing aerial coverage of the bus crash when the station lost contact with the aircraft.
Viewers and journalists on the ground then saw smoke rising nearby.
NBC4 later confirmed that the station's Chopper 4 had gone down only a few blocks from the original crash scene.
The aircraft crashed between two commercial buildings in Chatsworth and caught fire.
More than 70 firefighters responded.
The helicopter crew did not survive
Reporter Eliana Moreno and veteran pilot George Marciniw were both killed.
A third person, identified as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, was killed on the ground. Two other people were taken to the hospital.
Moreno was an experienced aerial journalist who had worked in news helicopters since 2010.
Marciniw had decades of flying experience and had reportedly logged around 14,000 flight hours.
The pair had covered everything from police pursuits to wildfires across Southern California.
The final moments were captured on the live feed
One of the most disturbing details emerged afterward.
The helicopter's final moments were partially captured during the live news feed.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the footage showed the aircraft beginning to descend as the engine sound changed. Moreno could be heard asking whether the pilot could pull up before the video cut out.
Aviation experts who reviewed the footage said the audio may suggest a loss of engine power or rotor speed, but the official cause has not yet been determined.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
NBC4 had to report on its own tragedy
For the NBC4 newsroom, the story quickly became deeply personal.
Anchors were still covering the deadly bus collision when they realized their own helicopter had crashed.
At first, the station simply knew it had lost contact with the crew.
Later that evening, anchor Colleen Williams confirmed on air that the helicopter was gone and that their colleagues had died.
Journalists on the broadcast visibly struggled with the news.
The station temporarily paused its coverage before returning to the air.
Five people died across the two crashes
By the following day, authorities confirmed that at least five people had died across the two separate incidents.
Two people were killed in the bus collision.
Three more died in the helicopter crash that happened while the first tragedy was still being covered.
The events unfolded only hours apart and only a short distance from one another.
Investigators are now trying to determine why the helicopter went down
The cause of the helicopter crash remains under investigation.
The aircraft was operated by Angel City Air and was providing news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52.
The NTSB is examining the wreckage, flight data, maintenance history, and other evidence.
For now, there is no official conclusion about what caused the helicopter to lose control.
What is clear is that a routine news assignment turned into a second deadly emergency.
A helicopter crew went up to cover one tragedy.
Within hours, they had become part of another.
Marta Visser
Consumer editor
Marta has covered retail pricing and consumer rights for nine years and runs our basket-tracking tests.
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