September 16, 2026 | 07:00

READING: 1 minute

A helicopter from NBC4 crashed in Los Angeles while covering a traffic accident, then caught fire after hitting the ground. Three people have been reported dead. The crash occurred around 7 p.m. local time in Chatsworth, a residential neighborhood.

A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson told reporters that one of the victims was a bystander and the other two were on board the helicopter: reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. A fourth person was taken to hospital in serious condition.

The aircraft, identified as NBC4 Los Angeles’ “NewsChopper4,” was recording the scene of a collision between a bus and a car on Nordhoff Street — an earlier crash that had already left two people dead and several others injured — when it went down.

During an emotional live broadcast on NBC4, longtime anchor Colleen Williams confirmed the downed helicopter belonged to the station. “We knew it was a news helicopter. We knew we had lost contact with our colleagues and have just received confirmation,” she said. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.