The final moments of an NBC4 Los Angeles news helicopter were captured live on camera before the aircraft plunged from the sky and exploded in a deadly crash.
The footage is chilling.
A warning horn begins to sound.
The helicopter starts shaking violently.
And aerial reporter Eliana Moreno can be heard reacting as the aircraft suddenly loses altitude.
“Uh, oh,” she says.
Seconds later, as the situation deteriorates:
“Pull. You can’t pull up?”
Then the livestream cuts out.
The helicopter crashed near warehouses in Chatsworth at around 7 p.m. Tuesday, killing Moreno, veteran pilot George Marciniw and a person on the ground.
The aircraft burst into flames on impact.
Nearby vehicles also caught fire as debris scattered across the area.
Witnesses described a sudden and terrifying descent.
“I saw the helicopter — something didn’t look right,” local resident Zareh Sevanesian told NBC News.
He said he immediately told his wife that the aircraft appeared to be flying abnormally.
Moments later, it came down.
The livestream may now become a crucial piece of evidence as investigators try to determine what caused the crash.
The audio reportedly captured a low-rotor-RPM warning horn before the helicopter began rapidly losing altitude.
That warning is designed to alert pilots when rotor speed drops below a safe level.
But the presence of an alarm does not by itself establish exactly what failed.
The official cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Veteran helicopter pilot Zoey Tur has said the circumstances appear consistent with a possible engine failure.
That remains an expert assessment rather than an official finding.
Marciniw was an exceptionally experienced pilot.
He had reportedly accumulated more than 14,000 flight hours.
Moreno was a longtime aerial reporter for NBC4 Los Angeles.
The pair had been in the air covering another deadly incident nearby — a crash involving a Metro bus — when their own helicopter went down.
For viewers who later saw the livestream, the most disturbing part is how quickly everything changed.
The flight initially appeared routine.
Then came the warning.
Then the shaking.
Then silence.
The crash triggered a massive fire on the ground.
Witnesses said the impact sent people scrambling for cover as flames and debris spread through the industrial area.
Sevanesian described it as one of the most violent fires he had ever seen.
He recalled nearby witnesses screaming uncontrollably after realizing what had happened.
Four vehicles reportedly caught fire.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene, but there was no possibility of saving the people aboard the helicopter.
Moreno and Marciniw were pronounced dead.
Authorities also confirmed that a pedestrian on the ground was killed.
The identity of that third victim was not immediately released in the initial reports.
The tragedy has devastated the NBC4 newsroom and the wider Los Angeles television community.
News helicopters have long been a fixture of Southern California broadcasting.
They cover traffic.
Wildfires.
Police pursuits.
Natural disasters.
And major breaking news from above.
But the work carries obvious risks.
Unlike commercial aircraft that generally fly established routes and altitudes, news helicopters often operate at relatively low altitude and may remain in one area for extended periods while crews gather footage.
That makes pilot skill particularly important.
Marciniw’s extensive experience makes the sudden crash all the more shocking.
Investigators will likely examine the helicopter’s mechanical systems, maintenance history, engine performance and rotor system.
They will also review flight data, communications and every available second of the livestream.
The warning horn could prove especially significant.
A loss of rotor RPM can occur under several circumstances, including engine problems or other mechanical issues affecting the aircraft’s ability to maintain rotor speed.
But until investigators complete their work, attributing the crash to a specific failure would be premature.
The video captures symptoms.
It does not yet provide the full explanation.
What it does show is the urgency inside the cockpit.
Moreno immediately recognized that something had gone badly wrong.
Her brief words capture how little time the crew apparently had to respond.
“Uh, oh.”
Then:
“Pull.”
The entire sequence unfolded in seconds.
For those on the ground, the first warning was the helicopter’s strange movement.
Then came the impact.
Then the fireball.
For viewers, the tragedy is preserved in an even more unsettling way.
They can hear the alarm that preceded it.
They can hear Moreno’s reaction.
And then the broadcast disappears.
A routine assignment had turned fatal almost instantly.
Now investigators are left with the final footage, a destroyed aircraft and one central question:
What caused an experienced crew’s helicopter to suddenly fall out of the Los Angeles sky?