NEW CCTV SHOWS NBC4 HELICOPTER PLUNGING TO THE GROUND BEFORE BURSTING INTO FLAMES, KILLING THREE

LOS ANGELES — Newly released surveillance footage has captured the final moments of an NBC4 news helicopter as it rapidly descended toward the ground before crashing and bursting into flames in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, killing three people.

The helicopter went down shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 15, while the news crew was covering a separate deadly collision involving an SUV and a Los Angeles city bus.

The crash killed NBC4 photojournalist Eliana Moreno, 38, pilot George Marciniw, and 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground near the crash site.

NEW VIDEO CAPTURES THE FINAL SECONDS

The newly obtained surveillance footage, recorded by a camera near the crash site, provides another view of what happened moments before the helicopter hit the ground.

The aircraft can be seen descending rapidly behind a building and trees, with debris appearing in the air. Seconds later, flames and thick black smoke rise from the area where the helicopter crashed.

The footage is now expected to become an important piece of evidence as federal investigators work to reconstruct the final moments of the flight.

Former National Transportation Safety Board air-safety investigator Jeff Guzzetti said the aircraft appeared to have a very high rate of descent and that the footage could help investigators determine whether the helicopter had enough altitude and airspeed to perform an emergency autorotation.

Autorotation is an emergency maneuver that allows a helicopter to use airflow through its rotor system to maintain control after a loss of engine power.

CREW WAS COVERING ANOTHER DEADLY CRASH

The NBC4 helicopter was in the area because several news crews were covering a separate collision involving an SUV and a Metro bus.

That crash had already resulted in multiple casualties before the helicopter itself went down roughly a mile and a half away.

The NBC4 aircraft, known as NewsChopper4 and operated by Angel City Air, was among the helicopters providing aerial coverage of the breaking news scene.

The helicopter suddenly lost altitude while it was in the area.

The tragedy was particularly devastating for NBC4, where Moreno worked as a photojournalist.

ALARM SOUNDED AS THE HELICOPTER LOST ALTITUDE

Video recorded from inside the helicopter has also emerged, providing investigators with an unusually detailed look at the aircraft’s final moments.

The footage shows the helicopter apparently hovering over the crash scene before the aircraft begins losing altitude.

An alarm can be heard as the helicopter descends.

According to aviation experts who reviewed the recordings, the sound could be associated with a potential engine or rotor-speed problem, although the exact cause remains undetermined.

Moreno can also be heard communicating with the pilot as the aircraft begins to descend.

The helicopter then rapidly loses altitude, with the camera shaking as the aircraft approaches the ground.

The footage ends before the crash.

INVESTIGATORS ARE EXAMINING POSSIBLE ENGINE PROBLEMS

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

Investigators have not yet announced a final cause.

Experts have discussed the possibility of an engine-related problem, but investigators still need to determine what may have caused any loss of power if an engine malfunction occurred.

Guzzetti told NBC that the new video could help investigators determine whether the helicopter was operating in a situation sometimes described as the “dead man’s curve” — a flight condition in which an aircraft has limited altitude and airspeed, making an emergency autorotation much more difficult.

However, that remains an expert observation rather than an official finding about the cause of the crash.

ONBOARD AUDIO MAY HOLD CRITICAL CLUES

NTSB investigator-in-charge Fabian Salazar said the footage recovered from inside the helicopter contains sounds that appear consistent with changes in engine speed as well as warning tones that may have been directed at the pilot.

Salazar described the onboard recording as the most important piece of evidence investigators had recovered so far.

Investigators will compare that recording with surveillance footage, witness accounts, aircraft records and physical evidence from the wreckage.

The wreckage has been removed from the crash site and transported to an NTSB facility in Phoenix for further examination.

THREE LIVES LOST

The crash claimed the lives of two people aboard the helicopter and a person on the ground.

Eliana Moreno, 38, was an NBC4 photojournalist.

George Marciniw was the helicopter’s pilot.

Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29, was on the ground when the helicopter crashed.

Their deaths have sent shock waves through the Los Angeles news community and beyond.

The tragedy also highlighted the risks faced by journalists and pilots who respond to breaking news events from the air.

PRELIMINARY REPORT EXPECTED WITHIN WEEKS

The NTSB has asked anyone who witnessed the crash or recorded video of the aircraft to provide that material to investigators.

Officials are expected to issue a preliminary report in approximately 30 days.

A final determination of the cause could take considerably longer, potentially more than a year, as investigators analyze the aircraft, engine, flight data, video and other evidence.

For now, investigators have not assigned a definitive cause to the crash.

What is clear is that an NBC4 helicopter covering a breaking-news story suddenly lost altitude over Chatsworth on Tuesday evening, plunging toward the ground before erupting into flames — leaving three people dead and a newsroom mourning two members of its team.