Los Angeles news helicopter crash kills reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw

Aerial reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw died on Tuesday, 15 September, when their television news helicopter crashed in Chatsworth, California.

A third person also died in the crash. That person was thought to be a pedestrian on the ground and had not been identified. At least two other people were injured in connection with the crash, Deadline reported.

Moreno and Marciniw worked for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 in Los Angeles. Moreno served as an aerial reporter, meaning a journalist who reports from an aircraft, for KNBC and KVEA. The helicopter was providing coverage for both stations, which operate together in the Los Angeles market.

The two colleagues worked together often, particularly on evening news shifts. They were described as the eyes and ears in the sky for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 and had logged hundreds of hours together since 2023. Their assignments included the Los Angeles wildfires and numerous police chases.

They were covering a serious road crash when their helicopter went down. On the ground, an SUV had collided with a bus in Chatsworth. At least two people were killed in that collision, according to NBCLA. Police said the SUV driver will be arrested on suspicion of murder.

The helicopter crash was first reported to authorities at around 7 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter AS350. Los Angeles Fire Department officials said it went down between two commercial buildings in Chatsworth and caught fire.

The Fire Department logged the incident as INC#1526 on 15 September, Los Angeles Fire Department records show. Its first arriving crew described the wreckage as a helicopter of unknown make and type.

NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams told viewers live just before 9 p.m. that the downed aircraft was News Chopper 4, the station's own helicopter. NBC4 and Telemundo 52 later issued a statement on the crash.

CNN aired video taken from the helicopter in its final moments on the morning of 16 September. The pictures were first steady and focused on the vehicle accident below. They then began to shake as an alarm sounded inside the aircraft. CNN reported that the alarm could signal dangerously low rotor speed.

No cause for the helicopter crash had been given as of 16 September, Reuters reported.