Warning horns sounded inside a news helicopter in the final seconds before it crashed into a Los Angeles County neighborhood last month, killing three people, according to a preliminary federal report released Oct. 6.
The helicopter, NewsChopper4 operated by Angel City Air, crashed on Sept. 15 while covering a deadly bus crash in Chatsworth, a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. Authorities said the pilot, an onboard news reporter and one person on the ground were killed.
In its preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board said the helicopter departed Whiteman Airport and flew to Chatsworth to gather video footage of the fatal bus crash. The aircraft then spent about an hour and 24 minutes maneuvering in the vicinity
of the bus crash before it went down.
During the final minute of the flight, the helicopter was roughly 800 feet above the ground and decelerated to about six knots ground speed, according to the report. Investigators reviewed a four-minute, 21-second video recorded by the onboard reporter and found that "ambient helicopter noise" was consistent with normal operations for most of the recording.
But in the final 29 seconds, the recording captured changing engine and rotor sounds along with "intermittent and continuous horns" consistent with the helicopter's "main rotor high rpm, low rotor rpm and other aural advisories," the report states. Investigators also noted that the helicopter noise changed frequency during those last seconds.
While the preliminary report did not determine what caused the helicopter to crash, it provided new details about the aircraft's final moments that investigators are examining as part of the ongoing investigation.
News helicopter 'began a rapid descent' before crash
At about 6:55 p.m. local time on Sept. 15, flight-tracking data showed the helicopter "began a rapid descent while turning right," according to the report. The last data point showed the aircraft descending at a high rate, traveling about 38 knots ground speed directly above the crash site.
Security cameras from nearby buildings recorded the helicopter descending rapidly before it struck a metal storage container and burst into flames. "A postaccident fire quickly ensued," the report states.
A post-crash examination found that all major components remained attached to the fuselage or were located within a debris field extending about 30 feet from the wreckage, according to the report. The helicopter was later moved to a facility for further examination.
A deadly chain of events
The helicopter crash came hours after a fatal collision involving a Los Angeles Metro bus and another vehicle left two people dead. The helicopter, reporting for NBC 4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52, went down between two commercial buildings.
The three victims killed in the incident were identified as Eliana Moreno, a reporter; George Marciniw, the helicopter pilot; and Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29, according to NBC 4 and authorities. The television station reported that Moreno and Marciniw had been flying together for the last three years.
The incident stunned colleagues at the television stations, who learned of the tragedy while reporting on the breaking news unfolding in Chatsworth. During an emotional live broadcast that evening, NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams confirmed that NewsChopper4 had crashed after the station lost contact with the crew.
"We've been telling you that we've been piecing it together here. We knew it was a news chopper, we knew we'd lost contact with our people out there, and we just received the confirmation that, in fact, NewsChopper4 went down just before 7 o'clock tonight in Chatsworth," Williams said.
Before ending the broadcast, Williams told viewers: "We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process, and to regroup."
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NTSB: Warning horns sounded before deadly LA news helicopter crash
