LOS ANGELES, United States — A television news helicopter crashed in Chatsworth on Tuesday evening, killing the two people aboard and a pedestrian on the ground.
The aircraft, used by NBC4 and Telemundo 52, went down shortly before 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, while covering a separate fatal road collision in the northwestern Los Angeles neighbourhood.
NBC4 identified the two people aboard as Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist and reporter, and George Marciniw, the pilot.
The third person killed was outside in a car park when the helicopter crashed, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
At least two other people were taken to hospital.
The authorities had not released the pedestrian’s identity or details about the conditions of those injured by early Wednesday.
Station Lost Contact With Crew
The helicopter was reporting from the scene of a deadly collision involving a bus when NBC4 lost contact with its crew.
Colleen Williams, an NBC4 anchor, initially told viewers that the station could no longer communicate with the aircraft.
She later confirmed during a live broadcast that the crash involved the station’s helicopter team.
“We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process and to regroup,” Williams said before the station temporarily moved to other programming.
NBC4 and Telemundo 52 subsequently confirmed the crash in a joint statement.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives,” the stations said.
Moreno joined Angel City Air, the helicopter’s operator, in September 2010 and had worked as a reporter for several Southern California news organisations, NBC4 reported.
Fire Damages Vehicles and Containers
The helicopter came down near vehicles and large cargo containers in a commercial area about 25 miles northwest of central Los Angeles.
The crash started a fire that damaged four vehicles and two storage containers, the Fire Department said.
Videos from the area showed flames and dense smoke rising above the site before firefighters extinguished the blaze.
More than 70 firefighters responded, according to Fire Captain Rico Gross.
Fire Captain Branden Silverman said the aircraft was “pretty well destroyed”. He said the Los Angeles Police Department assisted in moving the pedestrian victim away from the fire.
Officials confirmed three deaths during a news conference late Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported that two people had been hospitalised with injuries whose severity was not immediately disclosed.
Federal Investigation Begins
The cause of the crash remained unknown on Wednesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. The agency was expected to send an investigator to the site on Wednesday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration is also participating in the inquiry. Its records identify the aircraft as a Eurocopter AS350 B2, a single-engine helicopter manufactured in 2004.
“This is a very, very, very tragic day in Los Angeles,” Bass said at the scene, referring to both the helicopter crash and the road collision it had been covering.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also expressed condolences to the victims’ relatives, the NBC4 team, and those affected by the bus collision.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the crash raised serious questions but urged the public to avoid speculation while investigators examined the wreckage.
“Tonight is not the time to speculate about those answers, tonight is the time to care for the people who are hurting, to support our first responders and to stand together as a community,” Horvath said.
