Los Angeles NBC news helicopter crashes while covering deadly bus collision
At least three people were killed when a local NBC news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighbourhood on Tuesday evening and burst into flames while crews were covering a nearby collision between an SUV and a city bus. The earlier road crash had already left at least two people dead and six others injured, according to officials.
NBC4 Los Angeles anchor Colleen Williams said on air that the station's helicopter went down shortly before 7 pm and that two people on board were killed. "We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, process it," she said, her voice shaking with emotion. Moments later, the live coverage was cut off.
The helicopter came down near a large storage facility in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley. Capt. Branden Silverman of the Los Angeles Fire Department said at least one person who died in the helicopter crash had been outside in the parking lot next to the commercial building. Two other people were taken to hospital, fire department battalion chief Rico A. Gross said, though their conditions were not immediately released.
Silverman said the helicopter was badly damaged. "From the helicopter itself, it's pretty well destroyed," he 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." Officials said at least four cars and two storage containers on the ground caught fire after the crash, but the fire was quickly put out. More than 70 firefighters responded, while dozens of police vehicles surrounded the site as ambulances entered.
About two hours before the helicopter crash, an SUV slammed into the middle of a city bus, killing at least two people and injuring six others. Photos and videos posted online showed half the SUV lodged into the side of an MTA bus. NBC said several television news helicopters had been covering the bus crash before NewsChopper4 went down around 2.4 kilometres away. The helicopter, operated by Angel City Air, was used by NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52.
At a late-night news conference, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and fire officials did not identify those who died in the helicopter crash. After the briefing, the mayor and other officials embraced a crying NBC reporter, who was also hugged by fellow journalists. Bass said, "Losing five Angelenos is very painful," and added, "And I know this community of Chatsworth was hit hard and will be grieving for some time."
NBC4 and Telemundo 52 said in a statement that they "are deeply saddened" to learn of the helicopter crash and offered "heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives". California Governor Gavin Newsom thanked emergency crews responding to both crashes and wrote on X that "our hearts are with the victims and families".
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said they would investigate the cause of the helicopter crash, with one investigator due to arrive on Wednesday. The crash adds to at least eight fatal accidents involving news helicopters in the US since 2000, which have killed 16 people, including a 2023 crash in a New Jersey forest involving a helicopter used by Philadelphia station WPVI and a 2022 crash near an interstate in Charlotte, North Carolina, involving WBTV during a training flight. The day's events in Los Angeles left multiple people dead across two separate crashes, with the helicopter disaster unfolding as news crews were covering the earlier bus collision.
