3 people killed when L.A. news helicopter crashes while covering fatal bus accident

3 people killed when L.A. news helicopter crashes while covering fatal bus accident

TV anchor confirms that the KNBC's helicopter went down during live broadcast

A news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighbourhood on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing at least three people while reporters were covering the collision of an SUV and a city bus, officials and the news outlet said.

Colleen Williams, an NBC4 Los Angeles anchor, confirmed during live broadcasts that two people were killed when the helicopter went down. At least one other person was killed on the ground, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

"We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, process it," Williams said, her voice shaking with emotion. Moments later the coverage cut off.

The helicopter, used by NBC and Telemundo, went down near a large storage facility in the neighbourhood of Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, officials said.

The crew was reporting on a collision from earlier in the day, when 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 the SUV lodged in the side of the bus.

"Losing five Angelenos is very painful," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. "And I know this community of Chatsworth, hit hard, will be grieving for some time."

Williams and the station's website identified the dead aboard the helicopter as Eliana Moreno, a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station's aerial coverage, and pilot George Marciniw. Both were employees of Angel City Air, which operated the chopper.

Moreno, born in Orange County, joined the Angel City Air helicopter team in 2010, the same year she earned a broadcast journalism and political science degree from Chapman University. She reported for several Southern California news outlets and began flying with Marciniw in 2023, the NBC4 website said.

Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974.

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

"From the helicopter itself, it's pretty well destroyed," Capt. Branden Silverman, a spokesperson for the fire department, said.

Two people were brought to a hospital, said Rico A. Gross, a fire department battalion chief. Their conditions were not immediately released.

NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Los Angeles said in a statement they "are deeply saddened" and extended "heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives."

Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked the emergency crews responding to both crashes and said in a post on X that "our hearts are with the victims and families."

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said personnel will arrive Wednesday to begin an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash.

There have been at least eight fatal crashes involving news helicopters in the U.S. since 2000, killing 16 people, according to a review of federal accident records and news accounts.

Some have occurred during live broadcasts, including a midair collision of helicopters in Phoenix in 2007, and a deadly accident involving a Seattle news helicopter in 2000.