Television reporter Eliana Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw died on Tuesday night when the news helicopter they were aboard crashed in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the United States. A third person, who was on the ground in a parking lot, was also killed, and at least two others were injured and taken to hospitals, according to local authorities.
The aircraft provided aerial coverage for the local stations NBC4 and Telemundo 52 and was operated by the company Angel City Air, according to the NBC network. It was covering a collision between a Los Angeles public transit bus and a car, an accident that authorities say had already killed two people earlier that day, when it went down shortly before 7 p.m. local time, about 40 kilometers northwest of downtown, in the San Fernando Valley. The impact, between two commercial buildings, started a fire that drew more than 70 firefighters and damaged four vehicles and two cargo containers. Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Branden Silverman said the helicopter was "practically destroyed".
In Brazil, the story spread through profiles of the reporter published by G1 and CNN Brasil, and it echoes a risk long familiar to Brazilian television, which relies heavily on helicopters for traffic and police coverage. In 2019, a helicopter carrying journalist Ricardo Boechat and pilot Ronaldo Quattrucci crashed on the Anhanguera highway in greater São Paulo, killing both men. In Los Angeles, the accident also recalls the 2020 crash in Calabasas, in the same San Fernando Valley, which killed basketball star Kobe Bryant and eight other people.
A career in the air
Born in Orange County, in Southern California, Moreno graduated from Chapman University in 2010 and joined the Angel City Air helicopter team that same year, covering news for several regional stations. Known by the nickname "Eli in the heli", she wrote on social media that she had "the best job in the world" and also reported in Spanish for Telemundo, the Spanish language network that shared the aircraft. Marciniw grew up in Southern California and finished high school in 1974; according to NBC4, the two had been flying together since 2023.
Reaction and investigation
NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams confirmed the deaths live on the station's evening newscast. "We are going on the air with heavy hearts because we have lost dear friends and colleagues", she said, before the station temporarily switched to other programming. NBC4 and Telemundo 52 said in a joint statement that they express their "sincere condolences to the families, friends and colleagues" of the victims. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it "a very, very, very tragic day for Los Angeles", and California Governor Gavin Newsom offered his condolences.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the federal agency that investigates transport accidents in the United States, will lead the inquiry, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also involved; an investigator was expected at the scene on Wednesday morning. FAA records show the aircraft was a Eurocopter AS350 B2 built in 2004, a common single engine utility model. The cause of the crash is still unknown. "There are serious questions about what happened tonight", said Lindsey Horvath, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.