Three dead after NBC News helicopter crashes in Los Angeles neighborhood

At least three people have died and another is injured after a local NBC News helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood Tuesday while reporting on a bus collision that occured earlier in the day, according to officials.

The helicopter went down between two commercial buildings in the Chatsworth neighborhood, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson said.

Five patients were assessed, with one person transported to a local hospital in an unknown condition while three others were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the LAFD.

NBC4 Los Angeles said it was their news helicopter, NewsChopper 4, that crashed in the city during a live broadcast. Several television news helicopters covering the bus collision were operating in the area, according to media reports.

“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.”

NBC said the helicopter was operated by Angel City Air, which is affiliated with the station.

The helicopter crash happened after a vehicle collision in the area in which a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle met with an accident, killing at least two people.

Footage from the scene showed two shipping containers and several vehicles burning and firefighters working to douse the blaze, which has since been extinguished.

The Los Angeles Police Department said the helicopter crashed at around 6:58 p.m. and its officers responded to the area of Lurline Avenue and Nordhoff Street in Chatsworth.

It said it was not confirmed how many people were on board.

At least one person killed in the helicopter crash was outside in the parking lot next to the commercial building, Capt Branden Silverman, a spokesperson for the LAFD, said during a news conference.

It was unclear if the other two who were killed were on the ground or inside the aircraft.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was “devastated” by the loss of life in the helicopter crash and the bus collision in Chatsworth.

“I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight,” she said. “My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash.”

Bass went 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.”

At least four cars and two storage containers on the ground caught fire from the burning helicopter wreckage, which was quickly put out, according to officials.

More than 50 firefighters responded to the helicopter crash, according to the LAFD.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash, the fire department said.

About two hours before the crash, an SUV slammed into the middle of a city bus, killing at least two people and injuring six others. Photos and videos online showed half of the SUV lodged into the side of an MTA bus.

The helicopter crashed about a mile and a half from the bus crash.