LA News Helicopter Crash: 3 Dead After Aircraft Covering Fatal Bus Collision Downed in Chatsworth

 A tragic series of events unfolded in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles on Tuesday evening after an NBC4 news helicopter crashed and erupted in flames while reporting live on a fatal traffic collision. The incident resulted in at least three confirmed fatalities and sparked an emergency response involving over 50 firefighters.

How the Incident Unfolded

Around 7:00 PM on Tuesday, September 15, news crews were gathered overhead in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in northwest Los Angeles, to cover a deadly accident where an SUV crashed into a metro bus, killing two people and injuring several others.

Moments later, the news chopper lost control and plunged into a commercial parking lot near the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue. The aircraft hit parked vehicles and shipping containers before bursting into a massive fireball.

"The helicopter crashed into a parking lot, into or next to some parked vehicles... The aircraft was pretty well destroyed, and firefighters had to search through the rubble." — Capt. Branden Silverman, Los Angeles Fire Department

Victims and Initial Investigations

Firefighters arriving at the scene quickly moved to extinguish the blazes engulfing four vehicles and two storage containers damaged by the crash.

• Fatalities: Officials confirmed at least three deaths. At least one victim was a bystander on the ground in the parking lot at the time of impact.

• On-Board Passengers: During a live broadcast, an anchor at NBC4 Los Angeles confirmed that contact was lost with their station’s chopper just before 7:00 PM.

• Current Status: Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have taken over the crash site to inspect the wreckage and determine the mechanical or environmental cause of the crash.