Three dead after NBC News helicopter crashes in Los Angeles

Three people have been killed after an NBC News helicopter crashed in Los Angeles, with audio capturing the moment someone on board asks the pilot: “What? You can’t pull up?”

NBC4 Los Angeles identified two of the victims as pilot George Marciniw and aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno, a familiar face to viewers of the network and its Spanish-language sister station, Telemundo 52. The third person, who was on the ground at the time of the crash, has yet to be named.

The helicopter was on the scene in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley Tuesday to film the aftermath of a traffic accident, which saw a city bus collide with an SUV earlier in the day, leaving two dead and six injured.

Hovering nearby, the chopper was filming the wreckage of the bus smash, meaning live video transmissions were being sent back to its parent TV station for review when it suddenly got into difficulties.

The aircraft crashed between two commercial buildings, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson said later, with three people pronounced dead at the scene and another transported to a local hospital. Their condition is currently unknown.

Veteran chopper pilot and former Emmy-winning news reporter Zoey Tur, famed for filming the OJ Simpson Bronco chase, posted a clip of the audio on X.

“If you listen, you could hear the low rotor RPM annunciator horn going off,” the expert wrote.

“You could also hear the engine rev down. This was an engine failure, and slow response into entering an auto-rotation by PiC [Pilot in Command].”

NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 issued a joint statement paying tribute to Marciniw and Moreno, who both hailed from Southern California.

“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 statement said. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”

Before the victims were identified, NBC4 had reported live on air that it was its own helicopter, NewsChopper 4, that had crashed.

“We’ve been telling you that we’ve been piecing it together here,” NBC anchor Colleen ‌Williams said.

“⁠We knew it was a ​news ⁠chopper. We knew we’d lost contact with our people out there, and we’ve just received the confirmation that, in ⁠fact, NewsChopper 4 went down just before 7 o’clock tonight ​in ⁠Chatsworth.”

Footage from the resulting scene showed at least four vehicles and two shipping containers burning and firefighters working to extinguish the blaze. Seventy firefighters ultimately descended on the scene and succeeded in putting it out.

The Los Angeles Police Department later put the exact time of the crash at 6:58 p.m. and said its officers had responded to the area of Lurline Avenue and Nordhoff Street.

The other person killed in the crash was outside in a parking lot next to the commercial building, said LAFD spokesman Captain Branden Silverman at a news conference. They have not yet been identified.

Eyewitness Zareh Sevanesian told NBC he had been driving nearby when he noticed the chopper’s erratic descent.

“As we were driving I looked over to my left,” he said. “I saw the helicopter – something didn’t look right. And I told my wife, ‘That helicopter is not flying right.’”

When it came down, Sevanesian said he pulled up at the crash site, describing the inferno he encountered as “one of the most violent fires I had ever seen.”

He said he found a person near the wreckage and three more screaming, with his wife Allyona Sevanesian adding: “It was very terrifying and sad for everyone.”

Reflecting on the tragedy early Wednesday, NBC4 reporter Lauren Coronado said: “I think a lot of us are still trying to process what happened, this terrible loss.” She was standing near the crash site during her newscast and said a hazmat crew was on site cleaning up jet fuel.

In a tribute to Moreno and Marciniw, her newscast referred to them as ”the team in the sky,” saying Moreno would often post videos from her job and was in awe of the view she had.

News anchor Lynette Romero held a colleague’s hand and wiped away tears after hearing Moreno’s voice when one of her posts was played.

In an interview with the station, Esteban Jimenez, a pilot, said he had known Marciniw since the 1990s. He said Marciniw had been his instructor. “I just talked to him on Sunday. We were talking about the aviation business and retiring,” he said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was “absolutely devastated” by the loss of life in ‌the twin disasters Tuesday.

“My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash,” she said, going on to thank emergency responders for ‌their swift response.

California Gov. ⁠Gavin Newsom also shared his condolences and said: “Our hearts are with the victims and families of tonight’s devastating Metro bus and helicopter ‌crashes in Chatsworth, and with ​the entire NBC4 family.”