SAD NEWS: Beloved TV icon d!es in helicopter crash as devastated co-star shares tragic news on air
NBC Los Angeles reporter Eliana Moreno has died after a news helicopter crashed in the Chatsworth area of the city while covering another fatal incident.
The experienced aerial journalist was aboard NewsChopper 4 with pilot George Marciniw when the aircraft went down on Tuesday evening.
Three people were killed in the crash and a fourth person was injured.
News anchor Colleen Williams was visibly emotional as she was forced to confirm the devastating news to viewers live on air, her voice breaking as she explained that the station had initially lost contact with colleagues aboard the helicopter.
“We’ve been telling you that we’ve been piecing it together here,” she said.
“We knew it was a news chopper. We knew we’d lost contact with our people out there, and we’ve just received the confirmation that, in fact, NewsChopper 4 went down just before 7 o’clock tonight in Chatsworth.”
NBC Anchor Struggles Through Heartbreaking Announcement
After confirming the crash, Colleen told viewers the team needed some time away from the broadcast to process what had happened.
She nevertheless assured audiences that the station would return immediately if officials held a news conference or any significant new information emerged.
NBC4 and Telemundo 52 later issued a joint statement expressing their grief.
“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,” the statement read.
The broadcasters also offered their condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.
Eliana and George were reported to be the only two people aboard the station’s helicopter at the time.
They had been covering the aftermath of a deadly bus crash that had already claimed at least two lives when their aircraft went down.
A third person killed in the helicopter crash is believed to have been a pedestrian who was in the area when the aircraft hit the ground.
Eliana Had Built 16-Year Career Above Los Angeles
Eliana, affectionately known to viewers as “Eli in the Heli”, had established herself as a highly respected aerial journalist during a career spanning 16 years.
She spent years reporting on major stories from above Los Angeles and became a familiar voice to viewers watching breaking news coverage across the city.
George was also described as a highly experienced pilot, having reportedly logged more than 14,000 hours flying helicopters.
The pair were hovering near the scene they had been covering when the helicopter suddenly lost altitude and crashed.
The impact triggered a major fire, engulfing the wreckage and setting several nearby vehicles alight.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene as firefighters worked to bring the flames under control.
Cause of Crash Remains Unknown
Footage said to have captured the helicopter’s final moments reportedly showed an alarm sounding while the engine noise changed.
The image then began spinning rapidly before the live transmission abruptly ended.
Officials have not yet established what caused the aircraft to lose altitude.
The tragedy has left colleagues at NBC4 and Telemundo 52 mourning two members of their news team while investigators work to determine exactly what happened.
For viewers, the most painful moment came as Colleen had to deliver news no presenter ever expects to read — that the colleagues they had been trying to contact would not be coming home.
Eliana’s death brings an abrupt end to a long career spent documenting breaking stories across Los Angeles from the air.
And what began as another evening covering tragedy became one for her own newsroom, as colleagues struggled to report on the loss of one of their own.
