The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has identified a live video feed from a Los Angeles news helicopter as the “most important evidence” in the investigation into a crash that killed three people. NTSB investigator-in-charge Fabian Salazar stated Wednesday that the recording from NBC Los Angeles helicopter CH-12 will undergo sound spectrum analysis to detect engine speed changes and pilot advisories captured in the final moments of the broadcast.
The Eurocopter AS 350 B2 crashed between two commercial buildings in Chatsworth, California, on Tuesday evening. The accident killed KNBC photojournalist Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground at the time. A fourth individual involved in the incident was transported to a hospital. The video footage captured the helicopter shaking and alarms sounding before the feed cut off following a question regarding the aircraft’s ability to pull up.
Moreno and Marciniw were covering a deadly collision between a Metro bus and an SUV that occurred approximately two hours prior to the helicopter crash. While several news choppers were in the area, the specific circumstances of the chopper impact remain under investigation. NBC Los Angeles noted that the two victims had worked together for hundreds of hours, including coverage of the January 2025 wildfires. Authorities have taken Bailee Lynn Rios, the driver of the SUV involved in the earlier road collision, into custody on suspicion of murder.
The NTSB indicated that it will release a preliminary report on the helicopter accident in 30 days, with a final report determining the cause expected to take up to 18 months. A vigil for the victims is scheduled for Thursday evening in Chatsworth.
Why is there still a fourth person in hospital but no update on their condition? Also, how did a helicopter get that low between buildings in the first place?
The detail about the alarms sounding right before the feed cut is chilling. It makes the final seconds feel so visceral and terrifying for everyone watching live.
I can’t believe the NTSB is relying on a broadcast feed as primary evidence. Doesn’t that introduce risks regarding compression or signal delay affecting the analysis?
This is absolutely heartbreaking. Eliana was such a talented journalist. Thinking of her family and the pilot during this terrible time.