Three people died and one person sustained injuries on Tuesday evening, September 15, after a television news helicopter crashed between two commercial buildings in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles. The aircraft, identified by NBC Los Angeles as its NewsChopper4, went down at 9151 N. Mason Ave. just before 7 p.m. The crash occurred while the crew was providing aerial coverage of a separate, fatal traffic collision involving a bus and an SUV.
Nightfall tragedy strikes Chatsworth as news helicopter plunges
Pilot and photojournalist among the three dead
According to LAFD Capt. NBC4 identified the two crew members aboard the helicopter as pilot George Marciniw and aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno. Moreno worked as a photojournalist for both NBC4 and its Spanish-language sister station, Telemundo 52, after graduating from Chapman University. Marciniw grew up in Southern California and attended Burbank High School.
Seventy firefighters battle flames and vehicle damage
Emergency crews transported a fourth person to a local hospital in an unknown condition. The Los Angeles Fire Department deployed more than 70 firefighters to the scene. The resulting fire damaged four vehicles and two storage containers before crews extinguished the flames. Authorities confirmed that the fire did not spread to any nearby structures.
Federal investigators target airspace above twin disasters
Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration announced they would dispatch investigators to the crash site to determine the cause of the accident. Local news outlets reported that multiple television news helicopters were operating in the airspace above Chatsworth on Tuesday night to cover a Metro bus crash that had already left at least two people dead and multiple others hospitalized.
City leadership and newsroom colleagues mourn losses
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a statement saying she was devastated by the loss of life from both the bus collision and the helicopter crash. California officials and network anchors also acknowledged the incident during evening broadcasts, with NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams sharing the confirmation of the station’s aircraft loss with viewers.
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