Deadly LA news chopper crash: Live video 'most important evidence,' NTSB says
Live video taken from a Los Angeles TV news helicopter just before it crashed is among the "most important evidence" investigators have as they work to determine the cause of the deadly incident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
NTSB investigator-in-charge Fabian Salazar told reporters Wednesday that the live video feed from NBC Los Angeles helicopter reporter Eliana Moreno and her pilot George Marciniw "is probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far."
The final moments of the broadcast from inside the chopper show the helicopter shaking as alarms begin to sound. They start to fall and a voice asks, "You can't pull up?" before the feed is cut off.
"What we are going to do is get a pristine copy of that recording and send it to our recorder's lab for a sound spectrum analysis, because in that recording, we are clearly hearing sounds that are consistent with the engine changing its speed," Salazar said. "We're also hearing tones that are being generated that are likely advisories to the pilots."
The NTSB said it will release its preliminary report on the chopper crash in 30 days, adding that a final report with a cause could take up to 18 months.
Moreno, Marciniw, and a person on the ground, 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, were all killed when the news chopper crashed between two commercial buildings in Chatsworth on Tuesday evening, officials said. A fourth person was taken to a hospital, officials said.
NBC Los Angeles said Moreno and Marciniw "logged hundreds of hours together in the sky" on stories including the January 2025 wildfires.
The NBC Los Angeles helicopter was among several news choppers in the area at the time covering a deadly collision between a Metro bus and an SUV that unfolded about two hours earlier.
The bus and SUV crash left two people dead and several others injured, authorities said.
The SUV driver, Bailee Lynn Rios, was allegedly impaired by drugs and had illegal narcotics in the car at the time of the crash, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
She has been charged with second-degree murder, driving under the influence and reckless driving for her alleged role in the bus crash, according to Hochman.
"She was driving well beyond the speed limit. She entered into opposing traffic because she was approaching a red light where cars were stopped, and she didn't stop," Hochman said at a press briefing on Thursday announcing the charges. "At full force, she plunged into that metro bus, killing two individuals: Daniel Castillo and Gage Weida."
Her bail has been set at $4.1 million and she is expected to be arraigned on Friday.
A vigil will be held in Chatsworth on Thursday evening to honor the five people killed in the bus and helicopter crashes, according to NBC Los Angeles.
In a new statement released Thursday, Moreno's family said she dreamed of becoming a reporter since she was 11.
"Through hard work and courage, she turned that dream into a reality," the family said. " ... We find comfort in knowing that Eliana left this world doing the very thing she loved."
"On behalf of her parents, siblings, fiancé, stepsons, and beloved dogs, we want to thank everyone for the overwhelming love you have shown our beautiful Eliana," the statement continued. " ... Please continue to keep Eliana, her pilot George, Edy Gutierrez Meija, and the souls lost in the bus collision in your thoughts and prayers."
