NBC News helicopter crashes in Los Angeles, resulting in the deaths of three individuals while reporting on a bus accident

A local NBC News helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday while covering a nearby bus accident, killing three people and injuring two others. The aircraft went down near a large storage facility in Chatsworth, in the San Fernando Valley, just before 7pm, according to officials and the station. The crash occurred roughly 1.5 miles from the site of an earlier collision the news crews had been covering. About two hours before the helicopter went down, an SUV struck the center of a city bus, killing at least two people and injuring six others. Images and video from that scene showed part of the SUV embedded in the side of an MTA bus. Several television news crews were reporting on the bus accident when the helicopter crashed. Colleen Williams, an anchor for NBC4 Los Angeles, confirmed the crash during a live broadcast. “We will take a few moments to reflect on that and process it,” she said, and moments later the station interrupted its coverage. Los Angeles Fire Department officials said at least one of the victims was found outside the aircraft, in a parking lot next to the commercial building; two other people were taken to the hospital, and their conditions were not immediately clear. “From the helicopter itself, it’s quite extensively damaged,” said Capt. Branden Silverman, a department spokesperson, added that crews would need to sift through the debris to determine how many victims were on board and to identify the aircraft, as the tail was not visible. At least four cars and two storage containers caught fire on the ground; more than 70 responders reached the scene and quickly extinguished the flames. NBC confirmed the helicopter was NewsChopper4, operated by Angel City Air and used by NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52. NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Los Angeles expressed profound sorrow in a statement, offering condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also responded to both crashes. “The loss of five individuals from Los Angeles is deeply sorrowful,” she said. “I understand that this Chatsworth community has been deeply affected and will be in mourning for an extended period.” California Governor Gavin Newsom thanked the emergency crews who responded to both incidents, saying, “Our hearts are with the victims and families.” The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said they will investigate the cause of the helicopter crash, with an investigator expected at the scene on Wednesday. Federal accident records and news reports indicate there have been at least eight fatal crashes involving news helicopters in the United States since 2000, killing 16 people. They include a 2023 crash in a New Jersey forest that killed a pilot and a photographer aboard a helicopter used by Philadelphia station WPVI and a 2022 crash near an interstate in Charlotte, North Carolina, that killed a pilot and a meteorologist during a training flight for WBTV.