They were the ‘eyes and ears in the sky.’ NBC4 helicopter crew were SoCal news veterans
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They were a dynamic duo, often taking to the skies to document some of the biggest breaking news stories across Southern California.
But on Tuesday evening, KNBC reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw flew together for the last time, before their NBC4 news helicopter crashed and burst into flames in Chatsworth, killing them and a third person on the ground. The third person was identified as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia.
The chopper went down between two commercial buildings in the 9100 block of Mason Avenue around 7 p.m. In addition to the three killed, two others were hospitalized.
At the time of the crash, Moreno and Marciniw were covering a fatal vehicle collision in Chatsworth, where two people were killed and six others were injured when an SUV smashed into a Metro bus.
The two people killed in the bus collision have been identified as 31-year-old Gage Weida and 46-year-old Daniel Castillo.
Here’s more information about the helicopter victims.
Who were the victims of the helicopter crash?
The pair were referred to as “the eyes and ears in the sky,” according to NBC4. Moreno and Marciniw first began flying together in 2023 and worked to cover stories as varied as police pursuits and the 2025 L.A. County wildfires.
Moreno was from Orange County and graduated from Chapman University with a degree in broadcast journalism and political science. She had been flying in news choppers since 2010. She was engaged to be married.
Moreno was also known as “Eli in the heli” on Instagram and reported for NBCLA and Telemundo 52.
Southern California journalists who crossed paths with her over the years grieved on social media.
TV journalist Terry Anzur wrote on X that she was hired to train Moreno in 2012 when she was part of a group of TV helicopter reporters in Los Angeles.
“She was not long out of school and eager to improve her voice technique and storytelling,” Anzur wrote. “I wrote in her coaching report, ‘Your energy is contagious.’ Reading that she is among the victims of the KNBC news helicopter crash is a tragic loss of a true professional who was passionate about her craft.”
On Wednesday, a memorial sprang up at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, where Moreno and Marciniw would fly out on assignment. Mourners came to pay their respects and leave bouquets of flowers, which lined a fence.
Jake Asner, creator of the video news organization Traffic News L.A., organized the small memorial, the San Bernardino Sun reported. He told The Times, “I trained with Eliana on News Chopper 4 back in 2022 for about four months, and every flight with her was such an amazing experience.
“She was just so wildly good at what she did,” he said. “She had the scanners on, she was talking to ... assignment desks ... and controlling the camera. .... She did it like it was a piece of cake.”
Juan Hernandez, who said he works with Traffic News L.A. and worked with Moreno, was off work the day of the accident but monitoring police scanners. He learned that “it was News Chopper 4 that crashed with Eliana and George Marciniw.” Hernandez paused to overcome strong emotion. “I tried getting in contact with them, but no reply.”
Like Moreno, Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974, according to NBC4. He also worked as a flight instructor for aspiring pilots.
According to a flight instructor profile, Marciniw was a helicopter flight instructor for more than 30 years and had flown 14,000 hours. His base is listed as Whiteman Airport, and he was affiliated with Pacific Rotorways Helicopter Training.
Marciniw’s Facebook profile describes him as a helicopter pilot with experience in aerial filming, surveillance, flight instruction and helicopter management.
“George, thank you for taking my 2 oldest boys up on a flight,” Stacey Swehla wrote on Facebook. “We will always remember you with love. I’ve enjoyed watching the videos of your news flights with your friend reporter over the years. You lived an adventurous life.”
The Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles wrote on Facebook that Marciniw was a parishioner of the Nativity of the BVM Ukrainian Catholic Church in Los Angeles.
“The UCC is deeply saddened of the sudden loss this morning of longtime member George Marciniw as well as reporter Eliana Moreno from the tragic crash of the NBC4 copter,” the culture center wrote on the platform.
“We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 was involved in a fatal accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening,” NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Los Angeles said in a statement. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
Times staff writers Iris Kwok, Karen Garcia and Terry Castleman contributed to this report.
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