NBC Helicopter Crash Kills Three In Los Angeles
Three people have been confirmed dead following the crash of an NBC news helicopter in Los Angeles.
The crash occurred in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley just before 7pm Tuesday, local time. The helicopter, operated by Angel City Air, was providing aerial footage of a traffic accident for NBC Los Angeles when it lost altitude and plummeted into the streets below.
The crash took the lives of photojournalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw as well as Edy Gutiérrez Mejia, a pedestrian on the ground. Mejia was visiting from Guatemala.
NBC Los Angeles and its Spanish-language sister station Telemundo 52 issued a joint statement expressing condolences for the victims.
“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.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
Moreno and Marciniw. Image: Facebook
Witnesses on the ground report seeing the helicopter swaying before it dropped from the sky. The last footage filmed from the chopper shows the camera panning away from the traffic incident before it starts shaking violently. A female voice can be heard saying: “You can’t pull up?”
Moreno, who called herself ‘Eli in the Heli’ on Instagram, was an experienced journalist and was well-known by viewers for her aerial reporting. She graduated in 2010 with a double degree in broadcast journalism and political science and had been flying with Marciniw since 2023.
Marciniw was a veteran pilot of 30 years with more than 14,000 logged flight hours and was highly regarded as a dedicated professional. Fellow helicopter pilot Esteban Jimenez, who was at the scene of the crash, said Marciniw was nearing retirement.
Mejia was a resident of Cuilapa in southeastern Guatemala and had been in town for just two days before the crash. He had travelled to Los Angeles to pick up a car that he was taking home to sell.
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“We offer our prayers for eternal rest and ask our Lord God to grant the family much patience during these moments of sorrow,” the Cuilapa mayor’s office said in a Facebook statement.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
MADCAP Global Entertainment joins those paying tribute to Moreno, Marciniw, and Mejia, offering our deepest condolences to their families, friends, and loved ones.
