An NBC Los Angeles journalist and a pilot, who worked together for three years, were killed in a helicopter crash on Tuesday, Sept. 15, along with a pedestrian.
Reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw were killed on Sept. 15 in a crash in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth. The pair was covering a news story for KNBC-TV and Telemundo 52, NBC Los Angeles said following their deaths.
Authorities have not identified the pedestrian who died in the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the crash happened around 7 p.m. on Tuesday and only two people were onboard. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate, with the NTSB spearheading the investigation.
When contacted on Sept. 16, the Los Angeles
Police Department referred USA TODAY to the FAA and the NTSB. The Los Angeles Fire Department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Here’s what we know about Moreno and Marciniw, whose lives were cut short this week.
‘Eli in the heli’
Moreno and Marciniw were often called “the eyes and ears in the sky” for both KNBC-TV and Telemundo 52. The duo often shared behind-the-scenes footage and photos of their time together on Instagram.
The Whiteman Airport Coalition shared a video of Moreno in July, during which she told viewers what they could expect to see from the pair.
"We are a breaking news helicopter for the most part,” she said in the video, noting that she covered fires, pursuits, shootings and stabbings.
“Brush fires, though, are huge for us,” Moreno said. “It's really one of the best stories to cover from the helicopter because the helicopter is able to show here's where the fire started, here's where it's going. It just goes to show the power we have from being the eye in the sky."
Moreno, who went by “Eli in the heli” on Instagram, is from Orange County and graduated from Chapman University with a degree in broadcast journalism and political science, NBC Los Angeles said. She was engaged when she died, the outlet reported.
She had been flying with Marciniw since 2023. The pair covered the wildfires in January 2025, as well as police pursuits in southern California.
Marciniw grew up in southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974, NBC Los Angeles reported. He was a pilot instructor with over 30 years of flight experience, NBC Los Angeles said. He also ran Pacific RotorWays Flight School, according to a LinkedIn page and his Instagram account.
Last October, he shared photos Moreno captured over Dodger Stadium, and in December, he shared some photos of the moon she took.
“Last night’s moon that Eliana got a picture of as the moon was rising,” he captioned the post. “Unbelievable view from the helicopter!”
Tributes pour in for helicopter duo
NBC Los Angeles reporter Hetty Chang found out about her colleagues’ deaths and recalled how thorough of a reporter Moreno was.
“Any time I was on my way to a breaking news story, I always made sure to listen to Eliana’s report from NewsChopper 4 because I knew it was accurate, timely and had every detail,” Chang wrote in an Instagram post following Moreno's death.
When she couldn’t listen, she’d text Moreno and ask her to hop on a call. Moreno was always willing, she said.
“I had just heard her voice in my ear less than (an) hour before the crash,” Chang wrote, sharing a photo of the pair at the Golden Mike Awards in 2018. “It was our first time meeting in person. I was a bit star struck and I think I told her so. My heart breaks for Eliana’s family, the family of pilot George Marciniw and our @nbcla family. Rest easy, Eli in the Heli.”
‘We’re going to miss them beyond words’
Jonathan Gonzalez, co-anchor for NBC Los Angeles, also reflected this week on what it was like working with the pair and the connections they had.
He recalled being a child and watching News Chopper 4 take off. Gonzalez eventually learned he went to the same high school as Marciniw.
“I thought, ‘What are the odds?' Another Burbankian?”
They added each other on Facebook, where Marciniw posted about how much he loved flying, Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez got a message following the crash from a mentor who said he was also devastated. Before the incident, his mentor gave him a News Chopper 4 pin that now has taken on a new meaning for the co-anchor.
"It just means that much more than ever,” Gonzalez said.
He added that the people are most important in the news business.
"We're going to miss them beyond words,” he added.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s trending team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colleagues mourn reporter, pilot killed in Los Angeles helicopter crash
