The crash was reported just before 7 p.m. in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in northern Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
NBCLA confirmed the helicopter was NewsChopper4, which is owned and operated by Angel City Air, and was providing news coverage. Several TV news helicopters were in the west San Fernando Valley community reporting on a deadly crash involving a Metro bus.
The helicopter went down between two commercial buildings, the LAFD said. The crash resulted in a fire, damaging four cars and two storage containers in the area.
"From the helicopter itself, it's pretty well destroyed," Fire Capt. Brandon Silverman said. "So we are going to have to go through the rubble and see how many victims there were on board, as well as identify the helicopter; we couldn't even see a tail."
A witness said the helicopter erupted in a fireball immediately after striking the ground in the parking lot. Another witness recalled watching the aircraft go down
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"My husband's in law enforcement," one woman told NBC L.A. "He said the helicopter is looking strange. We noticed that it was swaying. Five seconds later… we saw large smoke."
The victims aboard the helicopter were identified as Angel City Air employees Eliana Moreno, a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station's aerial coverage, and pilot George Marciniw. A person on the ground was also killed, authorities said.
That individual was identified Wednesday by the coroner's office as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia.Two people were taken to the hospital, Fire Battalion Chief Rico Gross said at a late-night news conference. Their conditions were not known.
A couple of witnesses share what they saw as a helicopter crashed in Chatsworth on Tuesday evening.
Born in Orange County, Moreno was a 2010 graduate of Chapman University where she earned degree in broadcast journalism and political science. She joined the Angel City Air helicopter team in September 2010 and has reported for several Southern California media outlets.
Marciniw grew up in Southern California, a 1974 graduate of Burbank High School
“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," NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Los Angeles said in a statement. "We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
Mayor Karen Bass said it was a "very, very, very tragic day in Los Angeles."
"Our hearts are with those impacted by the bus collision and the helicopter crash, and with the entire community who lost members of their team while they were doing their job," Bass said at a late-night news conference.
She expressed grief over the loss of "five Angelenos" and said "our focus is with the victims, their families, and loved ones, and supporting those who responded to this tragedy."
"Our hearts are with the victims and families of tonight’s devastating Metro bus and helicopter crashes in Chatsworth, and with the entire NBC4 family. Thank you to the first responders working tirelessly tonight."
The fire department said the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will be involved in the investigation.
The NTSB said in a statement Wednesday that it was “investigating the Sept. 15 crash of a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 helicopter in Chatsworth, California.” It added that its investigators are expected to arrive on scene Wednesday morning
Angel City Air, which describes itself as “a full-service aerial production company," did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tragedy comes nearly 50 years after Francis Gary Powers was killed in a helicopter crash in Encino while working as a "Telecopter" reporter for KNBC. Powers and cameraman George Spears died in the crash. They had been covering brush fires northwest of Los Angeles when their helicopter went down in a field near the Sepulveda Dam.