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

Eliana Moreno is NBC4 and Telemundo 52’s NewsChopper4 aerial reporter and photographer, a Chapman University broadcast-journalism alumna who has flown breaking news from Whiteman Airport for years.

George Marciniw is a Southern California news helicopter pilot and flight instructor (Pacific Rotorways / Whiteman Airport) who has flown NewsChopper4 with Moreno. In August 2023 she posted a tarmac photo of the two of them beside the NBC helicopter and captioned it “Pilot: George Marciniw.” That picture shows an older man with white hair and a beard in a blue shirt and shorts standing next to Moreno.

The collage below is circulating with both names. The woman on both sides is Moreno. The man on the left is an older NewsChopper4 colleague. This is intended as a crew photo, not a confirmed identification of Marciniw, because it does not clearly match the 2023 photo she labeled with his name.

NBC4 has confirmed the downed aircraft was NewsChopper4, operated by Angel City Air. Anchor Colleen Williams said on air around 9 p.m. PT that the station had lost contact with its crew and then confirmed it was their helicopter. The station paused live coverage afterward.

LAFD and later reporting now describe the helicopter toll as two people aboard killed, one person on the ground killed, and one person hospitalized. The hospitalized person's condition has been reported as unknown; one later summary called it grave. Names have not been released by NBC4, LAFD, or the coroner. Social posts naming a photographer are unverified.

NTSB and FAA are investigating. No official cause has been given.

Bus crash

Two dead in Chatsworth bus crash; news helicopter later crashes nearby, killing three

LAFD's on-scene count remains two dead and six transported from the SUV–Metro Line 166 collision at Nordhoff and De Soto. The Los Angeles Times later wrote that the bus crash left three dead. That discrepancy has not been reconciled in an official LAFD update. Cause of the collision is still under investigation. Both scenes were still closed late Tuesday night while investigators worked.

CHATSWORTH, Calif. - Two people were killed and six others were taken to hospitals Tuesday afternoon after an SUV slammed into a Los Angeles Metro bus in the San Fernando Valley. About two hours later, a news helicopter covering that scene crashed and caught fire a short distance away, killing three people and sending one more person to a hospital.

The bus collision was reported at 5:03 p.m. at Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue. Fire officials said a Ford SUV struck the left side of a Metro Line 166 bus, which was heading toward Sun Valley. Aerial video showed the SUV lodged in the side of the bus. Urban search-and-rescue crews extricated trapped passengers; one person was also reported beneath a vehicle. The Los Angeles Fire Department said eight patients were assessed: two were pronounced dead and six were transported. Injuries ranged from minor to critical. Cause of the collision, including whether a vehicle ran a red light, remained under investigation.

NBC4 has confirmed the downed aircraft was NewsChopper4, operated by Angel City Air. Anchor Colleen Williams said on air around 9 p.m. PT that the station had lost contact with its crew and then confirmed it was their helicopter. The station paused live coverage afterward.

At 6:57 p.m., a helicopter went down in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue, between two commercial buildings near a self-storage site. The aircraft struck parked vehicles and shipping containers and erupted in flames. Fifty-six firefighters extinguished the fire. Four vehicles and two storage containers were damaged; no buildings were. LAPD said the aircraft was not a police helicopter.

LAFD later said three people were pronounced dead at the helicopter scene and a fourth was hospitalized in unspecified condition. Officials said one of the dead appeared to have been on the ground outside the aircraft. The wreckage was so badly burned that firefighters could not immediately read a tail number. Several news helicopters had been over Chatsworth covering the bus crash. NBC4 reported it had lost contact with its crew, and multiple outlets identified the downed aircraft as a KNBC news helicopter that had been transmitting live video. Typical news-helicopter crews include two people. Names of the dead and injured have not been released.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information and would decide whether to send investigators. The Federal Aviation Administration is also expected to review the flight. No official cause has been announced.

Mayor Karen Bass said she was "devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight." Both scenes remained closed while investigators worked.

LAFD, NBC4, and other outlets say identities of the dead and injured have not been confirmed. Some social-media comments have speculated about a crew member, but those reports are unverified and should not be treated as fact.