Los Angeles News Chopper Crash Victims Include TV Journalist And Pilot; Video Indicates Possible Rotor Problem

A local Los Angeles TV news journalist and the pilot of an NBC L.A. news chopper are among the three people confirmed dead in last night’s Los Angeles-area helicopter crash.

Journalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw were providing news coverage of an automobile accident in Chatsworth, CA, when their helicopter went down. The third casualty, thought to be a pedestrian on the ground, has not been identified. At least two other people were injured.

This morning, CNN aired video footage taken from the helicopter in its final moments. The footage was initially steadily focused on the vehicle accident on the ground, but the footage then began to shake and an alarm could be heard coming from inside the chopper. CNN reported that the alarm could signal a dangerously low rotor RPM.

NBC L.A./NBC 4 news anchor Colleen Williams made the announcement about her station’s own helicopter live on NBC 4 just before 9 p.m. last night. “We can now confirm that the chopper that went down in Chatsworth tonight two hours ago was, in fact, News Chopper 4,” a clearly shaken Williams announced on air.

The chopper crash was first reported to authorities around 7 p.m. Los Angeles Fire Department officials later confirmed the aircraft went down between two commercial buildings in Chatsworth, leaving at least three people dead.

According to NBC 4, Moreno and Marciniw frequently worked together, particularly during the evening news shifts. Often referred as “the eyes and ears in the sky” for NBC 4 and Telemundo 52, Moreno and Marciniw logged hundreds of sky hours together since 2023. Among the stories they covered were the L.A. wildfires and numerous police chases.