Investigators looking into a deadly Los Angeles news helicopter crash say live video captured from inside the aircraft moments before it went down is among the most important pieces of evidence they have found so far. The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigator-in-charge, Fabian Salazar, told reporters Wednesday that the footage from the helicopter is likely the single most valuable clue investigators have uncovered in the early days of the probe.

The crash killed NBC Los Angeles photojournalist Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and a bystander on the ground, 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, when the news helicopter went down between two commercial buildings in the Chatsworth neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley on Tuesday evening. A fourth person was hospitalized. The LA news helicopter crash has shaken the city’s television news community and prompted a rapid federal investigation into what caused the aircraft to fall from the sky.

What Happened Tuesday Night

The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 operated for NBC’s Los Angeles station, KNBC, crashed in a fiery blaze shortly before 7 p.m. local time Tuesday, according to officials. The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that Moreno, Marciniw and Gutierrez Mejia, a pedestrian on the ground, were killed in the crash, and that a fourth person was taken to a hospital.

The helicopter had been covering a separate, unrelated tragedy at the time of the crash. Around 5 p.m. that same evening, a Metro bus and an SUV collided in the same area of Chatsworth, killing two people and injuring several others. The SUV driver, Bailee Lynn Rios, is being held on suspicion of murder in connection with that earlier crash, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Multiple television news helicopters, including the one carrying Moreno and Marciniw, were in the air covering that first crash when the second, fatal incident occurred roughly two hours later.

What the Live Video Shows

According to investigators, the final moments of the helicopter’s live broadcast show the aircraft shaking violently as onboard alarms begin to sound. A voice can be heard asking whether the pilot could pull the helicopter up before the video feed cuts out entirely.

Salazar told reporters that investigators plan to obtain a pristine copy of the recording and send it to the NTSB’s recorder laboratory for a detailed sound spectrum analysis. He said the recording clearly captures sounds consistent with the helicopter’s engine changing speed, along with tones that are likely cockpit advisories meant to alert the pilot to a problem. That analysis is expected to help investigators pin down what mechanical or operational issue may have led to the crash.

Who Were the Victims

NBC Los Angeles confirmed that Moreno and Marciniw were killed in the crash, describing the pair as a longtime team who had logged hundreds of hours flying together, including during their coverage of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Their partnership made them familiar figures in the city’s local television news coverage of breaking events.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim on the ground as Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29. Details about the fourth person taken to the hospital, including their condition, have not been publicly released.

Official Reaction

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the crash a heartbreaking night for the city, saying she was absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth and that her heart was with the families and loved ones of those killed. California Governor Gavin Newsom also issued a statement, saying his thoughts were with the victims and families of the bus and helicopter crashes and thanking first responders for their work that night.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna extended condolences to the families and friends of everyone who died, and said his heart was also with the colleagues of the NBC4 news team affected by the crash. A vigil for Moreno and Marciniw was scheduled for Thursday evening in Chatsworth, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Why This Investigation Matters

News helicopters are a familiar part of daily life for many Americans living in large cities, providing live aerial coverage of everything from traffic and weather to breaking crime and accident scenes. When a crash like this happens, it raises questions not just about what went wrong mechanically, but about the broader safety standards governing the news helicopters that regularly fly over populated areas to cover live events.

The NTSB’s investigation into this crash could also have implications beyond this single incident, since any findings about mechanical failure, pilot response, or safety procedures could influence how television stations and helicopter operators handle safety protocols for aircraft used in live news coverage going forward.

How the NTSB Investigation Works

The National Transportation Safety Board is the independent federal agency responsible for investigating civil aviation accidents in the United States. In this case, NTSB investigator-in-charge Fabian Salazar began an on-scene examination of the wreckage the day after the crash, working alongside the Federal Aviation Administration, which is also involved in the investigation.

The NTSB said it expects to release a preliminary report on the crash within 30 days, though that report typically outlines only the basic facts investigators have gathered rather than a determination of cause. A final report identifying the probable cause of the crash can take significantly longer, with the NTSB saying that process could take up to 18 months to complete.

Background on the Area and the Earlier Crash

Chatsworth sits in the northwestern San Fernando Valley, a section of Los Angeles known for its mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial and industrial areas. The neighborhood became the site of two separate deadly incidents within the same evening, a coincidence that placed an unusual amount of emergency response activity, and news coverage, in one area over the course of just a few hours.

The earlier crash, involving the Metro bus and an SUV, remains under a separate investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. Rios, the SUV driver being held on suspicion of murder, has not yet had additional details about the case made public. It was that first crash, rather than any incident involving the helicopter itself, that had originally drawn the news helicopter and its crew to the area before the fatal aircraft crash occurred.

What Happens Next

Investigators will continue examining the wreckage, the flight data available from the aircraft, and the audio and video captured during the helicopter’s final flight in the coming weeks. The sound spectrum analysis of the live broadcast audio is expected to play a central role in determining whether a mechanical failure, such as an engine problem, contributed to the crash, based on the tones and engine sounds investigators say are already audible in the recording.

Families, colleagues and the broader Los Angeles television news community are continuing to mourn Moreno and Marciniw following Thursday’s planned vigil, while the NTSB’s formal investigation moves toward its 30-day preliminary report and, eventually, a final determination of what caused the crash.