NBC REPORTER ELIANA MORENO KILLED IN LA HELICOPTER CRASH LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER HER ENGAGEMENT

Eliana Moreno had spent years looking down on Los Angeles from the sky, bringing breaking news to viewers from aboard NewsChopper 4. On September 15, she was covering another tragedy when the helicopter carrying her crashed in Chatsworth — ending the life of a journalist who had only recently begun planning her own future.

Moreno, a veteran aerial reporter for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52, was killed Tuesday evening when the news helicopter she was aboard went down while covering a separate traffic tragedy in the San Fernando Valley.

She was 38.

Pilot George Marciniw, who had flown alongside Moreno for years, also died in the crash. A third person on the ground, later identified as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, was also killed. Two other people were hospitalized.

For Moreno’s family and fiancé, the loss came with an especially painful detail.

She had been engaged to Robert Barrientos for less than a year.

SHE HAD JUST BEGUN A NEW CHAPTER

Moreno announced her engagement to Barrientos on October 28, 2025, after a trip to Tennessee.

She shared images from the trip and showed off her engagement ring, writing that she would remember the trip for the rest of her life.

The couple continued building memories together.

In May 2026, Moreno and Barrientos completed a half-marathon together. Afterward, she reflected online about accomplishing something she once did not believe she could do and wondered what she would accomplish next.

She had no way of knowing that only a few months later, her life would suddenly change forever.

THE FINAL ASSIGNMENT

On the evening of September 15, Moreno and Marciniw were flying over Chatsworth as they covered a deadly collision involving a Metro bus and an SUV.

NewsChopper 4 had launched from a nearby airport at approximately 5:20 p.m.

The helicopter’s signal was lost shortly before 7 p.m.

Witnesses later described seeing the helicopter apparently sway before losing altitude and crashing into a storage-business parking lot.

The aircraft caught fire.

More than 70 firefighters responded to the scene.

What makes the tragedy even more painful for Moreno’s colleagues is that she was doing exactly what she had spent years doing: covering breaking news from the sky.

“ELI IN THE HELI”

Moreno had become familiar to Southern California viewers through her work for both NBC4 and Telemundo 52.

Online, she was known as “Eli in the Heli.”

Her career had taken her above some of the biggest stories in Los Angeles, from police pursuits to wildfires and other breaking events.

She and Marciniw had worked together in the helicopter since 2023, logging hundreds of hours in the air. They had also covered the devastating Southern California wildfires in January 2025.

Colleagues remembered the pair as passionate about their work.

NBC4’s Lynette Romero said Moreno and Marciniw loved breaking news and loved being aboard NewsChopper 4.

Romero described Moreno as a small but energetic presence with a huge heart and an enthusiasm that was contagious.

A JOURNALIST WHO LOVED HER LIFE OUTSIDE THE NEWSROOM

Moreno was more than the reporter viewers saw hovering above Los Angeles.

She loved animals, including her dogs and chickens, according to colleagues.

She was also proud of her Southern California roots.

Moreno grew up in Orange County and graduated from Chapman University in 2010, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science.

Her social media was filled with moments from her life, her work and her time in the helicopter.

Among those memories was the video from Tennessee where she announced her engagement.

Now, that video has taken on a heartbreaking meaning for the people mourning her.

INVESTIGATORS ARE SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Officials have not announced a cause.

NTSB investigators have begun examining the aircraft and the circumstances surrounding its final flight, while witnesses and available recordings may help reconstruct what happened.

Investigators have emphasized that the inquiry remains in its early stages.

Until that work is complete, there is no official explanation for why the helicopter lost altitude and crashed.

“WE ARE HEARTBROKEN”

The tragedy was particularly difficult for NBC4 because the station was suddenly reporting the loss of its own colleagues.

Anchor Colleen Williams announced the crash on air in an emotional broadcast.

The station later described Moreno and Marciniw as valued members of the NBC4 and Telemundo 52 teams.

For viewers, she was the familiar face in the helicopter.

For her colleagues, she was a friend.

For her family, she was a daughter and sister.

And for Robert Barrientos, she was the woman he was planning to marry.

A FUTURE THAT HAD ONLY JUST BEGUN

Less than a year before her final flight, Moreno had held up an engagement ring and celebrated a new chapter in her life.

She and Barrientos had traveled together.

They ran a race together.

They were building memories and planning a future.

Then, on a September evening, she climbed aboard NewsChopper 4 for another assignment.

She never came home.

The investigation will determine what happened during those final moments in the sky.

But those who knew Moreno are already remembering the moments that came before them — the years she spent telling stories, the people she helped through her reporting, the animals she loved, the colleagues she inspired and the future she had only just begun to imagine.

Eliana Moreno was 38 years old.

She was a journalist who loved the sky, a woman who had recently become engaged, and someone whose life was still full of plans when the final assignment began.

Now, Southern California is mourning the woman many viewers knew simply as “Eli in the Heli.”