Three killed as NBC news helicopter covering bus accident crashes in Los Angeles

At least three people were killed after an NBC news helicopter crashed into a commercial property in Los Angeles and burst into flames while covering another fatal collision nearby, officials and the broadcaster said.

NewsChopper4 came down shortly before 7 pm on Tuesday near a storage facility in Chatsworth, in the San Fernando Valley. Two people aboard the helicopter were killed, while at least one person died on the ground in the adjoining car park, according to officials.

Two others were taken to hospital, although their conditions were not immediately disclosed.

NBC4 Los Angeles anchor Colleen Williams confirmed the deaths of the two people aboard the helicopter during a live broadcast. Visibly shaken, she told viewers that the station needed time to process the tragedy before the coverage was abruptly halted.

More than 70 firefighters responded to the crash. Flames engulfed at least four vehicles and two storage containers before crews brought the fire under control.

Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Branden Silverman said the helicopter had been almost completely destroyed, making it difficult for investigators to establish how many people were aboard or immediately identify the aircraft from the wreckage.

NBC later confirmed that the aircraft was NewsChopper4, operated by Angel City Air and used by NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52.

The helicopter had been among several news aircraft reporting on an earlier collision about 2.4 kilometres away. An SUV had crashed into the side of a Los Angeles Metro bus roughly two hours earlier, killing at least two people and injuring six others.

Photographs and videos shared online showed a large section of the SUV embedded in the bus.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass described the loss of five people across the two incidents as deeply painful and said the Chatsworth community would be grieving for some time. After a news conference, Bass and other officials were seen consoling an emotional NBC reporter at the scene.

NBC4 and Telemundo 52 said they were deeply saddened by the helicopter crash and extended condolences to the victims’ families, friends and colleagues.

California Governor Gavin Newsom thanked emergency personnel who responded to both incidents and said his thoughts were with those affected.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the cause of the helicopter crash. An NTSB investigator was expected to reach the site on Wednesday.

Federal accident records and media reports show that at least eight fatal crashes involving US news helicopters have occurred since 2000, claiming 16 lives.

Among them was a 2023 crash in a New Jersey forest that killed a pilot and photographer working aboard a helicopter used by Philadelphia television station WPVI. A pilot and meteorologist also died when a helicopter operated for WBTV crashed beside a motorway in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2022.

With agency inputs