Who Were Eliana Moreno and George Marciniw, the NBCLA Crew Members Killed in Los Angeles

Aerial reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw were killed in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, on Tuesday, 15 September. NewsChopper4 crashed while they covered a fatal Metro bus collision for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. A third person on the ground also died.

NBC Los Angeles identified Moreno and Marciniw as Angel City Air employees who frequently worked together, particularly during evening coverage. Angel City Air operated NewsChopper4. The pair began flying together in 2023 and logged hundreds of hours covering breaking news across Southern California.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said the helicopter crashed shortly before 7 p.m. near North Mason Avenue. The cause had not been determined. The department said the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration would handle the investigation.

NBC Los Angeles described Moreno and Marciniw as the 'eyes and ears in the sky.' Their aerial reports brought information from fast-moving scenes to viewers across Southern California.

Eliana Moreno Built Her Career Reporting From the Sky

Moreno was from Orange County and graduated from Chapman University in 2010. University records show she earned a BFA in television and broadcast journalism and a BS in political science.

She joined the Angel City Air helicopter team in September 2010, according to NBC Los Angeles. Moreno later worked in aerial newsgathering for several Southern California stations.

Chapman profiled Moreno in 2015 while she was working in aerial news coverage for KCAL 9 and KCBS 2. She described a job that required her to handle reporting, photography and editing at the same time.

'I'm not just a photographer or reporter or editor, I'm actually doing all three things at the same time,' Moreno told Chapman.

Years later, she became a familiar voice to NBC4 and Telemundo 52 viewers through NewsChopper4. On Instagram, she used the nickname 'Eli in the heli.'

Her assignments included police pursuits, wildfires and other breaking stories. NBC Los Angeles said Moreno and Marciniw also worked together during the destructive Southern California wildfires of January 2025.

Between breaking-news assignments, Moreno also provided aerial 'beauty shots' of the region's landscape. NBC Los Angeles said she is survived by her fiancé.

Eliana Moreno and George Marciniw Logged Hundreds of Hours Together

Marciniw also grew up in Southern California. NBC Los Angeles said he graduated from Burbank High School in 1974. Alongside his work as a pilot, he taught aspiring aviators as a flight instructor.

He began working with Moreno in 2023. NBC Los Angeles said the pair accumulated hundreds of hours together while reporting from above Los Angeles and surrounding communities.

Marciniw also shared photographs from his work in the air on social media. NBC reported that his posts regularly mentioned Moreno and featured aerial images of Los Angeles.

Esteban Jimenez, who knew Marciniw and had once been his student, said he had spoken with the pilot only days before the crash.

'I knew him since the 90s. He was my instructor at one time,' Jimenez said. 'He was my eyes and ears here in LA. He let me know what was going on with everything. I just talked to him on Sunday. We were talking about aviation business and retiring.'

NBC4 and Telemundo 52 expressed condolences after the crash. The stations said, 'We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.'

Moreno and Marciniw had been covering a separate fatal collision involving a Metro bus when NewsChopper4 went down. Authorities had not announced a cause for the helicopter crash.

The third person killed on the ground had not been publicly identified at the time of the report. The LAFD said federal aviation investigators would take over the inquiry into why the helicopter crashed.