An engaged reporter, a soon-to-retire pilot and a young tourist: What we know about the L.A. helicopter crash victims

Three lives cut short in Los Angeles helicopter crash

Activelifezero.com – A Los Angeles news helicopter crash on Tuesday evening left three people dead, including an aerial journalist, an experienced pilot nearing retirement and a visitor from Guatemala who had arrived in the city only hours earlier.

The Eurocopter AS350 went down in a business parking lot in a commercial area of Los Angeles while covering a fatal bus collision in Chatsworth, a suburban community roughly 25 miles northwest of downtown. The aircraft had been operating for NBC4 and Telemundo 52.

Two additional people were hospitalized with injuries, officials said. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are examining the wreckage and circumstances surrounding the crash. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, while a final finding on probable cause may take as long as 18 months.

Video recorded from the helicopter during its descent captured apparent engine-power loss and a warning alarm that appeared to signal slowing main rotor blades. The investigation will determine what led to the aircraft’s loss of control.

Eliana Moreno

Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist and reporter, had built a career bringing viewers a perspective from above Los Angeles. She had been engaged and was preparing for a future that included marriage, family and continued work in local journalism.

Born in Orange County, Moreno graduated from Chapman University in 2010 with degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. That September, she joined Angel City Air, the helicopter operator, and went on to work for several regional news outlets.

Her work earned recognition in 2023, when she received a Radio and Television News Association of Southern California award for Best TV Continuing Coverage.

Moreno gave audiences a window into aerial reporting through her social-media account, eli_in_the_heli. Her posts illustrated the demanding, specialized work involved in helicopter journalism: operating a camera mounted at the front of the aircraft while narrating unfolding events as the pilot maneuvered over brush fires, shootings and police pursuits.

Friends and colleagues remembered her energy, technical knowledge and enthusiasm for storytelling. Lynette Romero described Moreno on the “Today” show as someone who had long wanted to become a reporter.

“She was just such a light, such a spark plug,” Romero said. “She’s teeny-tiny but she had the biggest heart and enthusiasm, it was really contagious.”

Moreno came from a large family that took pride in seeing her work in the community where she grew up. Away from the helicopter, she loved animals, line dancing and running. She had dogs and chickens, and described herself online as a dog and chicken mom.

In May, she celebrated completing a half-marathon in less than two hours with her fiancé despite having asthma. Photos from the event showed the couple holding their medals. A trip to Tennessee in October appeared to mark their engagement, with Moreno sharing a video of her ring and writing that she would remember the trip for the rest of her life.

Her excitement about aviation was clear to those who knew her. Romero recalled a visit to the helicopter with Moreno’s team, saying Moreno was eager to explain the aircraft and its equipment.

“She knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how to express it to our viewers,” Romero said. “Our viewers are grieving, too.”

George Marciniw

George Marciniw was a veteran pilot who had spent years in the demanding world of aerial news coverage. He was approaching retirement, a milestone that would have brought a quieter chapter after a long aviation career.

Marciniw and Moreno both worked for Angel City Air and had flown together since 2023. Their close working relationship extended beyond the cockpit; photographs shared on social media reflected the partnership they developed while covering major stories across the region.

News helicopter crews regularly operate in rapidly changing conditions, often responding to breaking events where access from the ground is limited. Their work can provide vital visual context during fires, collisions and law-enforcement activity, but it also depends on close coordination between pilot and reporter.

For Marciniw, that responsibility was part of an established professional life. His death has left colleagues and loved ones mourning a pilot who had been looking forward to retirement.

Edy Gutierrez Mejia

The crash also took the life of Edy Gutierrez Mejia, a young tourist from Guatemala. He had reached Los Angeles just hours before the helicopter fell into the parking lot and struck him.

His death underscores the sudden reach of the tragedy beyond the crew aboard the aircraft. What began as coverage of a fatal bus collision became another emergency scene, affecting people with no connection to the original assignment.

As investigators work to establish the cause of the crash, the loss is being felt by three separate circles of family, friends and colleagues: Moreno’s loved ones and fellow journalists, Marciniw’s aviation community, and Gutierrez Mejia’s family in Guatemala.

The investigation may take months to produce definitive answers. In the meantime, Los Angeles is left to remember a reporter whose passion was visible on screen, a pilot who had devoted years to his profession, and a visitor whose journey to the city ended in tragedy.