Helicopter Crashes Near Site of Deadly Metro Bus Accident in Chatsworth

A helicopter, believed to be part of a local TV news team, crashed Tuesday night in Chatsworth, just blocks away from an L.A. Metro bus crash that killed two people and sent six others to the hospital.

Los Angeles outlet NBC4 Los Angeles reported Tuesday night on the incident and indicated that it the crash might have a connection to the station. KNBC-TV news anchor Colleen Williams said on air, “We know that it is a news helicopter, and we know that we have lost contact” with the station’s helicopter.

Authorities with the Los Angeles Fire Department told KTLA that the helicopter went down between two commercial buildings at 9151 N. Mason Avenue just before 7 p.m. PT.

CBS News reports that the helicopter appeared to crash onto two shipping containers, as well as several vehicles that were parked in the vicinity. While it’s unclear how many people were on the helicopter when it went down, an LAFD firefighter told CBS that there was at least one person killed who was outside of the aircraft when it went down.

“We do have one confirmed patient that seemed to be outside of the helicopter when it crashed,” the firefighter said. “That person was declared deceased on scene.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Metro accident occurred around 5 p.m. PT when an SUV crashed into the bus, which was traveling on Line 166, trapping the passengers inside. Jennifer Middleton, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, told the outlet that the two individuals who were killed were pronounced dead at the scene.