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The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that the helicopter came down around 7 p.m. in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue between two commercial buildings, striking shipping containers and parked vehicles before bursting into flames. More than 50 firefighters responded to extinguish the fire, which damaged four vehicles and two storage containers but left nearby structures intact, fire officials said. One victim was a pedestrian on the ground at the time of impact while the other two were aboard the aircraft, according to Capt. Branden Silverman, who noted that a fourth person was hospitalized with injuries of unknown severity.
NBC Los Angeles identified the helicopter victims as aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw, both employees of Angel City Air, which operated the station’s NewsChopper4. The station lost contact with the crew during live aerial footage of the nearby bus crash, anchor Colleen Williams stated on air as the newsroom attempted to reach its team. Battalion Chief Rico A. Gross confirmed at a late-night briefing that three people were pronounced dead at the scene while two others received hospital treatment.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Metro bus collision occurred shortly after 5 p.m. when an SUV traveling south on De Soto Avenue struck a Line 166 bus heading east on Nordhoff Street, lodging into the side of the vehicle and trapping several passengers inside. That incident killed three people and injured six others, with first responders extracting victims from the wreckage over an extended period, the newspaper reported. The two crash sites lay roughly 1.5 miles apart in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood, drawing multiple news helicopters to the bus accident before the second disaster unfolded.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the helicopter crash with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Officials have released no preliminary cause while video from the live broadcast showed the aircraft losing altitude and emitting warning sounds moments before impact, according to reports from NBC News and KTLA. The Los Angeles Police Department logged the incident separately as it continues its own inquiry alongside federal authorities.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass addressed both tragedies in a statement distributed on X. “I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight. My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash, and with the entire NBC4 family who lost members of their team while they were doing their jobs,” Bass said. The mayor’s remarks came as emergency crews remained on scene into the night and as the station confirmed the affiliation of the downed aircraft with its news operation.
According to the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team, fiscal year 2026 has recorded 12 fatal rotorcraft accidents with 23 fatalities through June, a figure that reflects ongoing risks in the sector even as overall accident rates have declined from the five-year average. The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated numerous similar events in recent years, often citing pilot error or mechanical factors in its findings. This latest crash adds to that tally as federal investigators begin their on-site work Wednesday.
