An NBC Los Angeles-affiliated helicopter crashed while covering a fatal bus collision Tuesday night, killing the photojournalist and pilot on board and one person on the ground, the station and officials said. The plane crashed in a parking lot at or near a storage facility in the Chatsworth community, which is in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department and ground news video from NBC Los Angeles. The helicopter was operated by Angel City Air and affiliated with the station, which previously said “We knew it was a news helicopter, we knew we had lost contact with our people and we just received confirmation that, in fact, NewsChopper 4 crashed just before 7 o’clock tonight in Chatsworth,” anchor Colleen Williams said. “Let’s take a couple of minutes to think about it, process it and regroup,” Williams added, his voice at times emotional. Angel City Air, which describes itself as “a full-service airline production company,” did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening. Three people died at the scene and two others were taken to the hospital, fire battalion chief Rico A. Gross said at an evening news conference. Their conditions were not available. One of the deceased appeared to be a pedestrian on the ground when the crash occurred, fire Capt. Branden Silverman previously said. The victims aboard the helicopter were identified by NBC Los Angeles as Angel City Air employee Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist familiar to viewers of the station and its Spanish-language sister station, Telemundo 52, and pilot George Marciniw. Eliana Moreno and George Marciniw. George Marciniw / via Facebook Moreno was born in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, and graduated from Chapman University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and political science in 2010, NBC Los Angeles reported. He joined the Angel City Air helicopter team the same year and has reported for several Southern California news outlets. Marciniw also grew up in Southern California, where he graduated from Burbank High School, according to the station. NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 issued a joint statement expressing their condolences. “We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 was involved in a fatal crash in Los Angeles on Tuesday night,” the stations said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.” The helicopter crash occurred after two people were killed and others were injured in a crash between a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle on Nordhoff Street, according to the fire department. He said the bus accident occurred at 5:03 p.m. and firefighters worked to free trapped people and assess bus passengers. The helicopter was one of multiple planes covering the crash, NBC Los Angeles previously reported.
