NBC4 Helicopter Crash in Los Angeles: What We Know About the Chatsworth Tragedy

NBC4 Helicopter Crash in Los Angeles: What We Know About the Chatsworth Tragedy

Updated: September 16, 2026

A news helicopter went down in a parking lot in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 15, killing three people and injuring one more. The aircraft, which was providing aerial coverage for NBC Los Angeles (NBC4) and Telemundo 52 as NewsChopper 4, crashed while covering a separate, already-fatal crash between an SUV and a Metro bus just a short distance away.

The story is still developing. Authorities have confirmed the death toll and the general circumstances of the crash, but as of this update the victims have not been officially named, and the cause of the crash itself has not been determined.

What Happened in Chatsworth?

Earlier on Tuesday, an SUV collided with a Metro bus near the intersection of Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue in Chatsworth, in the San Fernando Valley. That crash killed two people and injured six others. As is standard practice for a major traffic incident, a news helicopter was sent up to provide live aerial coverage of the scene.

A short time later, that same helicopter crashed into a nearby parking lot, striking parked vehicles and storage containers before catching fire. Video from other outlets covering the original bus crash captured the moment smoke and flames rose from the second, unrelated crash site nearby.

Three Dead, One Injured

The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed three fatalities connected to the helicopter crash. Two of the victims were aboard the aircraft. The third was a person who was standing in the parking area when the helicopter came down — meaning this wasn't only an aviation tragedy, but one that also claimed a bystander on the ground.

A fourth person was injured and taken to a hospital; officials have not released details on that person's condition.

LAFD Capt. Branden Silverman described the helicopter as "pretty well destroyed," and said crews would need to examine the wreckage carefully just to confirm how many people had actually been aboard at the time of the crash. That level of destruction is one reason the identification and investigation process has moved slowly.

Who Was Aboard? [Names Not Yet Officially Confirmed]

Social media posts and some aviation-focused accounts have circulated the names [Eliana Moreno], an aerial photographer and reporter who has worked with NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52, and [George Marciniw], a commercial helicopter pilot associated with Southern California aviation and reportedly linked to Pacific Rotorways, as the two people believed to have been aboard the aircraft.

It's important to be precise here: as of this update, neither NBC, Telemundo, the Los Angeles Fire Department, nor the county medical examiner has officially confirmed the identities of the victims. NBC Los Angeles had initially said it was unable to reach its pilot or anyone who may have been aboard the helicopter. Some social media users also said they believed they recognized a reporter's voice in footage recorded shortly before the crash, but that is not confirmation either.

Until an official source names the victims, any names circulating — including the two listed above — should be treated as unconfirmed reports rather than fact.

The Fire Response

More than 50 Los Angeles firefighters responded to the crash site. Given the fuel load of a downed helicopter, the confined space of a parking lot full of vehicles, and the difficulty of confirming how many patients might be trapped in the wreckage, this is exactly the kind of incident that demands a fast, heavy initial response — and that's what happened here.

Crews brought the fire under control, though not before it spread to four vehicles and two storage containers in the immediate area. Once the fire was out, the wreckage still had to be treated carefully as part of the ongoing investigation, since disturbing it prematurely can compromise the evidence federal investigators need.

Why This Incident Involves Two Separate Investigations

There are effectively two things being investigated here, and it's worth keeping them separate:

• The Metro bus crash. A ground-level traffic collision between an SUV and a Metro bus that killed two people and injured six — a serious incident in its own right, and the reason the helicopter was in the air in the first place.
• The helicopter crash. A separate aviation accident that happened while the aircraft was covering the first incident, killing three more people and injuring a fourth.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the helicopter crash specifically — examining the aircraft's flight path, mechanical condition, and the circumstances that led to it going down. That process typically takes months, and preliminary findings, when they come, are usually followed much later by a final report.

What Readers Usually Want to Know

Most people landing on a story like this are trying to answer a few basic questions:

• Where and when did the crash happen?
• How many people died, and were any bystanders involved?
• Who was flying the helicopter, and who was on board?
• What caused the crash?

Here's the short version: the helicopter crashed in a Chatsworth parking lot on the evening of September 15 while covering a fatal Metro bus crash nearby. Three people died — two aboard the aircraft and one bystander on the ground — and a fourth was injured. Names circulating online for the two people aboard the helicopter are unconfirmed. The cause of the crash has not been determined and is now under FAA/NTSB investigation.

Bottom Line

This is a developing story with two tragedies layered on top of each other: a fatal bus crash on the ground, and a news helicopter crash that followed while crews were covering it. The confirmed facts are limited but serious — three dead, one injured, a 50-plus-firefighter response, and a federal investigation just getting underway. The identities of the two victims believed to have been aboard the aircraft, [Eliana Moreno] and [George Marciniw], remain unconfirmed by any official source as of this update, and we'll update this page if and when authorities release confirmed names and findings.

For more emergency coverage, visit our fire news archive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where and when did the helicopter crash happen?

The helicopter crashed in a parking lot in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles on the evening of Tuesday, September 15, 2026.

How many people died in the crash?

Three people died: two who were aboard the helicopter, and one bystander who was standing in the parking area when the aircraft came down. A fourth person was injured and taken to a hospital.

Who was on board the helicopter?

Social media reports have circulated the names [Eliana Moreno] and [George Marciniw] as the two people believed to have been aboard, but as of this update neither NBC, Telemundo, nor the LAFD has officially confirmed the victims' identities.

What caused the crash?

The cause has not been determined. The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash, including the aircraft's flight path and mechanical condition.