The helicopter crash in Los Angeles took three lives, including two in the helicopter: a photojournalist and a pilot. Now, the heartbreaking footage from NBC, where anchor Colleen Williams shared news that their colleagues had died, has been shared.
A helicopter affiliated with NBC Los Angeles crashed Tuesday evening while covering a deadly collision, killing a photojournalist and pilot on board, as well as one person on the ground, officials and the station said.
The helicopter went down in a parking lot at or near a self-storage facility in Chatsworth, a community in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department and footage from the scene.
During a late-night news conference, Fire Battalion Chief Rico A. Gross said three people were dead at the scene while two others were taken to the hospital. Officials did not reveal their conditions to the public.
Earlier, Fire Capt. Branden Silverman said one of the deceased was a pedestrian on the ground when the crash happened.
Angel City Air operated the aircraft. It worked with NBC Los Angeles, covering news for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. The company describes itself as a “full-service aerial production company.” Angel City Air has not yet commented on the fatal incident.
Late Tuesday, NBC News shared that the victims aboard the helicopter were Angel City Air employees Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist familiar to viewers of the station and its Spanish-language sister station, Telemundo 52, and pilot George Marciniw.
Heartbreaking footage as news anchor shares two colleagues died in helicopter crash
NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 also released a joint statement expressing their condolences.
“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,” it read. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
At the time, several news helicopters were operating in the area. Live on air, NBC Los Angeles anchor Colleen Williams shared that they had “lost contact” with their news chopper. Later, she said it had gone down.
Williams said those on the helicopter were “valued friends and colleagues,” adding that they would take some time at the station to “regroup.”
Speaking live on air, with the clip shared on X, the news anchor said, “We can now confirm that the chopper that went down in Chatsworth tonight, about two hours ago, was in fact news chopper four.”
“We’re going to take a couple of minutes “
She continued, “We’ve been telling you that we’ve been piecing it together here, we knew it was a news chopper, and we knew we’d lost contact with our people out there, and we’ve just received the confirmation that in fact news chopper four went down just before seven o’clock tonight in Chatsworth.”
“We’re going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process and to regroup,” Williams added with a crackling voice, assuring that if “anything should happen,” they’d let the audience know.
The camera then cut off the anchor, giving her and her colleagues a moment to process the horrifying incident involving their colleagues.
It takes incredible strength to deliver devastating news like this. We want to praise news anchor Colleen Williams for her courage and professionalism while reporting on this heartbreaking tragedy.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected, especially the families who lost their loved ones. 🕊️
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