News Helicopter Crashes Near Scene of Deadly Chatsworth Bus Accident

A helicopter believed to belong to a local television news team crashed Tuesday night in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles, occurring mere blocks from the site of a fatal Metro bus accident that claimed two lives earlier that day.

KNBC-TV news anchor Colleen Williams announced on-air that station personnel have lost contact with their helicopter. NBC4 Los Angeles reported the incident late Tuesday evening and suggested a potential connection to the station’s operations.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the aircraft went down just before 7 p.m. PT between two commercial buildings located at 9151 N. Mason Avenue. CBS News reported that the helicopter appeared to impact two shipping containers and several parked vehicles in the vicinity.

While the total number of occupants aboard the helicopter remained unclear, an LAFD firefighter confirmed casualties among first responders on the ground. “We do have one confirmed patient that seemed to be outside of the helicopter when it crashed,” the firefighter told CBS. “That person was declared deceased on scene.”

The helicopter crash followed a separate traffic collision that occurred approximately at 5 p.m. PT. An SUV struck a Metro Line 166 bus traveling through the area, trapping passengers inside. The Los Angeles Times reported that the bus crash resulted in two deaths, with victims pronounced dead at the scene, and sent six other individuals to the hospital.

LAFD spokesperson Jennifer Middleton confirmed the fatalities from the initial transit accident as authorities continued to manage the scene for both incidents.