Helicopter Crash: Pilot, Photojournalist and Ground Victim Identified

• A news helicopter operated by Angel City Air on behalf of NBC Los Angeles crashed in a Chatsworth parking lot on Tuesday evening, killing three people
• The two crew members aboard were identified as aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw, both Southern California natives
• A witness driving nearby described watching the aircraft drop steadily before a fire erupted that he called one of the most violent he had ever seen

Three people died on Tuesday evening after a news helicopter contracted to NBC Los Angeles plunged into a parking lot in Chatsworth, a community in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, engulfing nearby vehicles in flames and sending shockwaves through the city's media community.

The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed the crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. local time.

The Eurocopter AS 350 B2, operated by Angel City Air and known to viewers as NewsChopper4, was providing aerial coverage of a separate bus collision on Nordhoff Street when it went down. Fire Battalion Chief Rico A.

Read also

Nollywood actor Emeka Ike weeps uncontrollably after hearing of Olu Jacobs’ death

Gross told reporters at a late-night press conference that three people were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were transported to the hospital.

Victims of LA crash identified

NBC Los Angeles identified the two people aboard as aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw.

Moreno, who grew up in Orange County, graduated from Chapman University in 2010 with a degree in broadcast journalism and political science before joining Angel City Air that same year.

She regularly appeared across both NBC Los Angeles and its Spanish-language sister station, Telemundo 52.

Marciniw was also a local, having attended Burbank High School before building a career in Southern California aviation.

The third person killed was identified the following day as Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29, who Fire Captain Branden Silverman said appeared to have been a pedestrian on the ground at the time of impact.

NBC Los Angeles anchor Colleen Williams broke the news on air, her voice audibly emotional.

"We knew it was a news chopper, we knew we'd lost contact with our people out there, and we've just received the confirmation that, in fact, NewsChopper4 went down just before 7 o'clock tonight in Chatsworth," she said.

Read also

Tragedy strikes as popular TV3 Mentor Season 2 contestant passes away, details emerge

NewsChopper crash: Witness recalls fire like none

Zareh Sevanesian was driving through the area with his wife, Allyona, when he noticed something troubling about the aircraft's behaviour.

"I saw the helicopter; something didn't look right. And I told my wife, 'That helicopter is not flying right,'" he recounted on NBC's TODAY show.

"It was one of the most violent fires I had ever seen," he said.

Firefighters who arrived on the scene found the helicopter entirely engulfed, with flames spreading to multiple parked vehicles.

Co-anchor Lynette Romero, also speaking on TODAY the following morning, described the station as "heartbroken."

"They were both doing what they loved so much, and for me, that's comfort in knowing how happy they were. They loved breaking news, and they loved being in NewsChopper4," she said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it "a heartbreaking night for our city," noting that five Angelenos had been lost that day when combined with the two earlier fatalities from the bus collision the helicopter had been covering. California Governor Gavin Newsom extended condolences to "the entire NBC4 family."

Read also

Tragedy strikes as popular TV presenter is found dead after alleged kidnapping incident, fans mourn

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with the Federal Aviation Administration also involved.

Helicopter carrying Kenyan officials makes emergency landing

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that a helicopter transporting three of Kenya's most senior government officials made an unplanned landing in Kericho County on Sunday, 9 August, after the pilot ran into dangerous weather mid-flight.

Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi, and Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor were all on board when conditions in the region's skies deteriorated sharply, forcing the crew to abort the planned route.

Source: YEN.com.gh