Haunting footage shows NBC4 helicopter drop out of sky into LA parking lot — killing 3
Newly released video shows the terrifying final seconds before a news helicopter suddenly lost altitude and crashed Tuesday night, killing its two-person crew and a man on the ground in Chatsworth.
The footage, obtained by NBCLA from a nearby building, captures the Airbus helicopter hovering over an intersection before it abruptly begins dropping toward the ground.
The helicopter had been covering a deadly crash involving an SUV and a Metro bus when it went down in the parking lot of a self-storage business.
Reporter Eliana Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw were killed in the crash, along with 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground.
“With heavy hearts, the board and members of the Radio & Television News Association of Southern California join our broadcast community in mourning the loss of pilot George Marciniw and Eliana Moreno, the Golden Mike Award–winning aerial journalist known to viewers of NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 — and to her many followers — as ‘Eli in the heli.’
“For 16 years, Eliana brought Southern California the news from above: wildfires, police pursuits, and countless breaking stories, delivered with the steadiness and dedication that earned her the trust of viewers across the region.”
The new video offers only a partial view of the descent because a building blocks the camera’s view of the helicopter’s final moments. But flames and thick smoke can be seen erupting from behind the building after the crash, with emergency crews arriving moments later.
The footage comes as federal investigators probe whether the helicopter suffered an engine or mechanical failure.
The video also appears to show that the helicopter did not simply run out of fuel.
Smoke emerges roughly 20 seconds after impact, while the first flames appear about 50 seconds after the crash.
A candlelight vigil was held Thursday night at St. John Eudes Parish in Chatsworth to honor Moreno, Marciniw, and Gutierrez Mejia.
The NTSB has urged anyone with video from the crash scene to come forward as investigators piece together the helicopter’s final moments.
Pieces of the helicopter were loaded onto a truck and transported to a specialized facility in Phoenix, Arizona, where investigators will examine the wreckage to determine the exact cause of the crash, NBC said.
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