Reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw reportedly killed in the NBC4 helicopter crash in Los Angeles

CHATSWORTH, Calif. - Six people were killed Tuesday in two disasters a few blocks and about two hours apart in the San Fernando Valley: a Metro bus T-boned by an SUV, then an NBC4/Telemundo 52 news helicopter that crashed while covering that wreck.

The first crash was reported at 5:03 p.m. at Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue. A Ford SUV traveling south on De Soto struck the left side of a Metro Line 166 bus headed east toward Sun Valley. The SUV lodged in the bus. Urban search-and-rescue crews pulled trapped riders out; one person was reported under a vehicle. The Los Angeles Times later reported three dead in that collision. An earlier Los Angeles Fire Department count listed two dead at the scene and six taken to hospitals, with injuries from minor to critical. Whether a vehicle ran a red light is still under investigation.

At 6:57 p.m., with police, firefighters and several news helicopters already over Chatsworth, a helicopter went down in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue, between two commercial buildings near a self-storage lot. It hit parked vehicles and shipping containers and burst into flames. Fifty-six firefighters put the fire out. Four vehicles and two containers were damaged; no buildings were. LAPD said it was not a police aircraft. The wreckage was so burned that crews could not read a tail number at first. Aviation reporting has pointed to an Airbus AS350, believed to be N358TV.

LAFD said three people were pronounced dead at the helicopter scene and at least one was hospitalized. Officials said two of the dead had been aboard and one was on the ground. Later briefings also described additional people taken to hospitals. NBC4 confirmed the aircraft was NewsChopper4, operated by Angel City Air and flying for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. Anchor Colleen Williams told viewers around 9 p.m. that the station had lost contact with its crew, then confirmed it was their helicopter and took the newscast off the air to regroup. The stations later said they were "deeply saddened" and offered condolences to families and colleagues.

NBC4, LAFD and the coroner have not released names. Social media and some outlets have identified the usual NewsChopper4 team as aerial reporter-photographer Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. Moreno, a Chapman University broadcast-journalism graduate, has flown breaking news for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 from Whiteman Airport for years. Marciniw is a longtime Southern California news pilot and flight instructor with Pacific Rotorways who has flown NewsChopper4 with her; she labeled him as the pilot in a 2023 tarmac photo. Those names remain unofficial. Some people said they heard Moreno's voice on the live feed before it cut out. That is not the same as an official identification.

The NTSB is expected on scene Wednesday. The FAA is also reviewing the flight. No cause has been announced. Mayor Karen Bass said she was devastated by the loss of life. Both scenes stayed closed overnight.