CALGARY — Three people were killed Tuesday evening after a helicopter providing aerial coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 crashed in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles.The helicopter went down shortly before 7 p.m. local time in the 9100 block of North Mason Ave., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.The aircraft, identified as NewsChopper4, was operated by Angel City Air and was being used by NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 for aerial news coverage.Two people aboard the helicopter were killed, while a third person on the ground also died, authorities said. Two additional people were taken to hospital following the crash.The helicopter crashed between two commercial buildings and caught fire. The blaze damaged four vehicles and two storage containers, NBC Los Angeles reported. More than 70 firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the fire..NBC4 identified the two people aboard the helicopter as Eliana Moreno, an aerial reporter and photojournalist, and George Marciniw, the aircraft's pilot.Both worked for Angel City Air, the helicopter operator. NBC reported that Moreno joined the company's helicopter team in 2010 and had worked with several Southern California news organizations.According to NBC4, Marciniw was a Southern California native and had been flying with Moreno since 2023. As of Wednesday, the identity of the third person killed in the crash had not been publicly released.NBC4 and Telemundo 52 issued a joint statement following the crash.“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,” the stations said.The stations extended condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those killed..The helicopter had been covering an earlier crash involving a Metro bus and an SUV in Chatsworth.That collision occurred shortly after 5 p.m. near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue. Three people were killed and six others were injured.Several news helicopters were in the area covering the bus collision when NewsChopper4 went down a short distance away.NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams later confirmed on air that the station had lost contact with its helicopter crew before the crash was confirmed.The Los Angeles Times reported that the newsroom continued covering the earlier crash before learning that its own helicopter had gone down nearby..The cause of the helicopter crash has not been determined.The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident, with investigators expected to examine the wreckage and other evidence to determine what happened before the crash.One witness told NBC Los Angeles that the helicopter appeared to be “swaying” before it descended. Another witness described seeing smoke and a fireball after the aircraft struck the ground. Those accounts have not been identified by investigators as evidence of what caused the crash.No official cause has been announced, and investigators have not publicly attributed the crash to mechanical problems, pilot error, weather, another aircraft or any other specific factor..Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass expressed condolences to those killed in both crashes.“I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight,” Bass said in a statement to NBC Los Angeles. “My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash.”California Gov. Gavin Newsom also expressed condolences to the victims and their families and thanked first responders involved in the response.The crash also prompted an on-air response from NBC4, which confirmed the loss of its own helicopter crew during its coverage Tuesday night.The Los Angeles Times reported that anchor Colleen Williams briefly ended the station's live coverage after confirming that NewsChopper4 had crashed, before NBC4 later resumed its coverage of the incident.The investigation remains ongoing.
