A Los Angeles helicopter crash has killed three people, including two members of the KNBC news team, after the aircraft came down while covering a fatal bus accident.
Newsreader Colleen Williams confirmed the deaths on air later that night, becoming visibly emotional as she told viewers the station had lost contact with its NewsChopper4 crew.
“We’ve been piecing it together here,” she said. “We knew it was a news chopper and we lost contact with our people out there, and we’ve just received the confirmation.”
“We’re going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process and to regroup.”
The helicopter crashed between two buildings near Chatsworth, in north-west Los Angeles, at about 7pm on Tuesday local time. Firefighters attended the scene and extinguished the fire before confirming that three people had died.
KNBC later identified those on board as pilot George Marciniw and photojournalist Eliana Moren. The third victim, 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, was killed on the ground.
“We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 (NBC4’s Spanish station) was involved in a fatal accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening,” the station said.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
Rival broadcaster ABC7 also paid tribute to the victims and offered its support to the KNBC team.
“To our fellow journalists at NBC4: We are competitors, yes, but always and most importantly, colleagues,” ABC7 newsreader Marc Brown said. “Your loss is a loss to all of us.”
Investigation into Los Angeles helicopter crash
The helicopter was transmitting a live feed of the bus accident when it began to lose altitude. The footage shows it circling the scene before descending towards a row of buildings, with the feed cutting out when it was just metres above them.
National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge Fabian Salazar said the recording could prove important in establishing what happened.
“That video is probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far,” he told reporters.
Investigators intend to obtain a pristine copy of the recording for sound analysis. Mr Salazar said it contained sounds consistent with the engine changing speed.
