By Dwayne Ferreira.
Los Angeles news helicopter crash kills three in Chatsworth as NTSB investigators examine final video, warning tones and engine sounds.
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles news helicopter crash that killed three people in Chatsworth has triggered a federal investigation focused heavily on the aircraft’s final live video and audio.
Aerial journalist Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground, died after NewsChopper4 crashed shortly before 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15.
The helicopter was providing aerial coverage for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 when it came down in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue.
Federal investigators identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter AS350 B2 operated by Angel City Air.
The crash happened less than two hours after Moreno and Marciniw began covering another fatal collision in Chatsworth involving a Metro bus and an SUV.
Los Angeles News Helicopter Crash Followed Fatal Bus Collision
The earlier collision happened at around 5 p.m. near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue.
The Los Angeles Police Department said a gray 2004 Ford Expedition was travelling southbound in the northbound lanes of De Soto Avenue. Police said the SUV ran a red light before colliding with a Metro bus travelling eastbound on Nordhoff Street.
The impact fully ejected one bus passenger and partially ejected another, according to police.
The two victims were later identified as Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31. Six other people were injured.
Police identified the SUV driver as 36-year-old Bailee Lynn Rios of Simi Valley. She was arrested on suspicion of murder, while prosecutors will determine what charges, if any, will ultimately be filed.
NewsChopper4 launched from a nearby airport at about 5:20 p.m. to cover the developing scene.
The helicopter remained over the area with other news aircraft before its signal disappeared shortly before 7 p.m.
Witnesses later described seeing the helicopter behave unusually during its final moments.
One witness told NBC Los Angeles that the aircraft appeared to be swaying before slowly losing altitude.
The helicopter then disappeared behind nearby buildings before crashing into a parking area near a storage business.
Fire Erupted After NewsChopper4 Hit the Ground
The Los Angeles Fire Department reported the crash at about 6:57 p.m. near 9151 North Mason Avenue.
The helicopter came down between two commercial buildings and burst into flames.
The resulting fire damaged four vehicles and two storage containers, while more than 70 firefighters responded to the scene.
Moreno and Marciniw died aboard the helicopter.
Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground when the aircraft crashed, was also killed.
Two additional people on the ground were injured and taken to hospital.
The crash brought the total number of deaths from the two linked incidents in Chatsworth that evening to five.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration then began examining what caused the helicopter to lose altitude.
Final Video May Be Critical to NTSB Investigation
NTSB Investigator-in-Charge Fabian Salazar said video and audio captured during the final moments of the Los Angeles news helicopter crash may be among the most important evidence gathered so far.
The recording captured sounds that investigators said were consistent with changes in engine speed.
Investigators also heard tones that Salazar said were likely advisories to the pilot.
The NTSB plans to obtain the highest-quality available copy of the recording and send it to its recorder laboratory for sound-spectrum analysis.
That work could help investigators determine what the warning tones represented and whether changes in engine speed played a role in the helicopter’s descent.
The NTSB identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter AS350 B2. Investigators have not established whether a mechanical problem occurred before impact.
Footage from the helicopter’s live broadcast shows the camera view changing as warning sounds become audible. A woman’s voice can be heard reacting before the aircraft descends.
However, investigators have stressed that the recording requires technical analysis before conclusions can be drawn from those sounds.
Salazar said investigators want a pristine copy because detailed audio analysis could provide more precise information about the sequence of events.
The analysis may help investigators identify the source and timing of the cockpit alerts.
However, the NTSB has not determined the cause of the crash.
Investigators are also reviewing the wreckage, aircraft maintenance records, pilot training, weather information, witness accounts and nearby security footage.
They are expected to move the wreckage to a secure location for a more detailed examination.
Authorities have not confirmed that the helicopter carried a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder.
Moreno and Marciniw Were Experienced Aerial News Veterans
Moreno and Marciniw had worked together regularly since 2023 and became familiar figures behind some of Southern California’s most visible breaking-news coverage.
Moreno, an Orange County native, graduated from Chapman University in 2010 with degrees in broadcast journalism and political science.
She joined the Angel City Air helicopter operation in September 2010 and later worked on aerial coverage for several Southern California media outlets.
Viewers knew her voice from coverage of police pursuits, wildfires, severe weather and other major events.
She was also known online as “Eli in the Heli” and had recently become engaged.
Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974.
He had decades of aviation experience and also worked as a flight instructor, training aspiring helicopter pilots.
Colleagues described the pair as a trusted aerial team who regularly worked together to cover major stories across the region.
NBC4 and Telemundo 52 issued a joint statement expressing condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those killed.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also expressed sympathy following the crash.
The accident has deeply affected Southern California’s broadcast journalism and aviation communities, particularly because Moreno and Marciniw died while covering another fatal emergency.
For investigators, attention now remains fixed on the helicopter’s final seconds.
The warning tones, changing engine sounds, live video, wreckage and maintenance history could all help explain what happened.
Until federal investigators complete that work, authorities have cautioned against reaching conclusions about whether mechanical failure, engine performance, pilot action or another factor caused the Los Angeles news helicopter crash.
The investigation remains ongoing.
