NBC4 Los Angeles has identified the two people aboard its news helicopter when it crashed and burned in Chatsworth on Tuesday night, killing three people total.
Eliana “Eli” Moreno, a veteran aerial reporter known on Instagram as “Eli in the Heli,” and pilot George Marciniw, who had logged more than 14,000 flight hours, were the occupants of NewsChopper4, the station confirmed. The third victim was believed to have been a pedestrian who was outside the helicopter when it went down.
The chopper was hovering near Nordhoff Street while covering a separate deadly Metro bus collision when it suddenly lost altitude and plunged to the ground. The crash erupted into a massive fire that engulfed the wreckage and set several nearby cars ablaze as firefighters rushed to the scene.
“We have lost contact with our people,” longtime NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams said through tears as the station covered the unfolding crash live on air.
NBC4 and Telemundo 52 released a joint statement late Tuesday. “We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 was involved in a fatal accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening,” the statement read. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
Moreno had been flying in news helicopters since 2010, when she began her aerial career shortly after graduating from Chapman University with degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. She worked as photographer, reporter and editor while airborne, covering police pursuits, brush fires, traffic and major local events from the sky.
She later worked for KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 before joining NBC and flying aboard NewsChopper4 around 2018 or 2019.
Tributes quickly poured onto social media after news of the crash spread. “May God have mercy on your beautiful soul, Eliana, and may choirs of angels welcome you into the Kingdom of Heaven,” one message read. “May your light shine on forever.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed at least three people were killed in the crash. NBC4 confirmed on air that the helicopter was its own as the fiery scene unfolded in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood.
The Metro bus collision that NewsChopper4 had been covering was itself a fatal incident, making the evening one of the deadliest in recent Los Angeles news-gathering history. The helicopter was stationary in hover when it began its fatal descent, according to early accounts of the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to lead the investigation into what caused the aircraft to lose altitude and crash.