Fatal LA News Helicopter Crash: Final Moments and Investigation Details
- An NBC4 news helicopter carrying two journalists crashed into shipping containers and vehicles in Chatsworth on Tuesday evening, resulting in three fatalities.
- According to the Los Angeles Times, the NBC4 aircraft was one of multiple news helicopters hovering over the scene of a fatal bus collision that afternoon.
- Jeff Guzzetti, a former National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration investigator, told the Los Angeles Times that audio recordings recovered from the aircraft capture a mechanical...
An NBC4 news helicopter carrying two journalists crashed into shipping containers and vehicles in Chatsworth on Tuesday evening, resulting in three fatalities. According to local reporting and federal investigators, the aircraft plummeted from the sky around 7 p.m. while covering a separate fatal bus collision at sunset. Station reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw died in the crash alongside a 29-year-old bystander on the ground named Edy Gutierrez Mejia, as federal authorities launched an immediate investigation into the mechanical failure.
Tragedy Strikes Chatsworth as News Chopper Plummets
Final Moments Captured on Video Streams
According to the Los Angeles Times, the NBC4 aircraft was one of multiple news helicopters hovering over the scene of a fatal bus collision that afternoon. Video streams captured by the helicopter show the craft dropping rapidly in altitude while a loud warning alarm blares in the background. Jack Cress, a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot and accident investigation instructor at the University of Southern California’s Aviation Safety and Security Program, told the Los Angeles Times that the alarm indicates a potential engine failure causing low propeller rotation or a hydraulic system malfunction.
Audio Recordings Reveal Mechanical Component Winding Down
Jeff Guzzetti, a former National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration investigator, told the Los Angeles Times that audio recordings recovered from the aircraft capture a mechanical component winding down during stable flight. In the footage, reporter Eliana Moreno responds to the noise with a quiet remark before asking the pilot if he can pull up, shortly before the video stream cuts out. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Fabian Salazar told the Los Angeles Times that the recovery of the video provides critical evidence for determining the cause of the disaster.
Low-Altitude Hover Leaves No Room for Safe Autorotation
Federal investigators point out that the aircraft was operating in a low-altitude hover when the mechanical issue occurred. According to Jack Cress in the Los Angeles Times, hovering at low altitude places a helicopter in a dangerous portion of the height-velocity curve, leaving the pilot with virtually no altitude or forward momentum to execute a safe autorotation landing maneuver. The National Transportation Safety Board continues to examine the wreckage and recovered flight data to determine the precise sequence of mechanical failures leading up to the impact.
