Authorities have identified the third person killed in the devastating Los Angeles news helicopter crash as a Guatemalan man who had arrived in the city only two days earlier. Investigators are now reviewing footage from the live broadcast as they work to establish what caused the fatal incident.
Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29, known to friends and family as Pichi, was on the ground when NBC Los Angeles’ News Chopper 4 crashed into a Chatsworth parking lot shortly before 7pm Tuesday. The helicopter had been covering a deadly bus crash when it went down and burst into flames.
The crash also claimed the lives of NBC 4 Los Angeles reporter Eliana “Eli” Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw, 70.
Mejia had traveled to Los Angeles intending to collect a vehicle and drive it back to his hometown of Cuilapa, Guatemala, where he planned to sell it, his cousin told NBC News. Relatives are now trying to bring his body home to Guatemala.
“This terrible and unforeseen tragedy has left an unfillable void and unimaginable grief in our entire family,” his cousin Karla Padilla wrote in an online fundraiser created to help cover funeral costs.
“Those who knew Edy know what a wonderful person he was, always full of life, kindness and love for his loved ones.”
Posts on Mejia’s social media accounts captured moments spent with family and friends, along with his love of soccer and travel.
Officials in Cuilapa also paid tribute to Mejia online. In a statement, the mayor’s office said: “We offer our prayers for eternal rest and ask our Lord God to grant the family patience during these moments of sorrow.”
Edy Fernando Gutiérrez Mejia, 29, died on the ground after News Chopper 4 crashed into a Chatsworth parking lot shortly before 7pm Tuesday.
Veteran NBC reporter Eliana “Eli” Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw, 70, were also killed in the Los Angeles helicopter crash.
As the helicopter plummeted into the ground, it struck a massive fire
Moreno, meanwhile, was remembered on Wednesday as a veteran aerial reporter for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo, who had been flying in news choppers since 2010 – covering police pursuits, wildfires, traffic and major local events.
She began her career in the air after graduating from Chapman University in 2010, where she studied broadcast journalism and political science.
Moreno had worked at KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 before joining NBC and flying aboard NewsChopper4 around 2018 or 2019.
Marciniw was an experienced pilot who had logged more than 14,000 hours in the helicopter.
Their deaths shocked reporters at the Los Angeles news station, who were on the ground covering the helicopter crash.
As questions remained about the collision, longtime NBC 4 Los Angeles news anchor Colleen Williams announced that the station was ‘not in contact with our television news helicopter.
‘We have lost contact with our people,’ she said as the station’s reporters on the scene choked up.
Williams later confirmed that the news helicopter was from NBC Los Angeles before the news station took a break.
Mayor Karen Bass and other elected officials spoke about the tragedy later in the night, where she was seen consoling NBC 4 reporter Robert Kovacik.
Moreno worked at KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 before joining NBC. She graduated from Chapman University in 2010, where she studied broadcast journalism and political science
Marciniw (above) and Moreno had been flying together since 2023
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass embraced NBC 4 reporter Robert Kovacik
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will now analyze video from aboard the NBC 4 chopper in order to piece together what may have caused the Eurocopter AS350B2 to go down, Investigator in Charge Fabian Salazar said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference.
‘The video that was actually taken while the reporter was doing live coverage, that video is probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far,’ he declared, adding that the agency will work toward obtaining a ‘pristine copy’ of the recording and send it to the agency’s lab for a sound spectrum analysis.
‘In that recording, we are clearly hearing sounds that are consistent with the engine changing its speed and we’re also hearing tones that are being generated that are likely advisories to the pilot, so it’s important that we get that recording to our lab, so that they can be downloaded and we can get to that factual evidence that way.’
The footage shows an aerial view of the bus crash and the wrecked SUV that T-boned the city bus as the whirl of the helicopter could be heard in the background.
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Suddenly, the sound of the engine’s motor winds down and a horn blares – possibly warning the pilot that the main rotor speed had dropped too low.
At that point, Moreno could be heard quietly saying ‘Uh oh.’
As the angle of the camera then begins to descend and shake, the reporter could be heard asking Marciniw: ‘You can’t pull up?’
The National Transportation Safety Board will now analyze video from abroad the NBC 4 chopper, Investigator-in-Charge Fabian Salazar said at a news conference
The NTSB investigation will now gather as much data from the wreckage site as possible, Salazar said
Aviation experts told the Los Angeles Times the crash may be the result of mechanical failure with the 22-year-old aircraft, a common helicopter for news and law enforcement agencies.
Zoey Tur, a veteran news helicopter pilot who operated the same type of chopper as the one involved in the crash, said the sound the microphone picked up was of an engine shutting down.
‘First, the engine starts winding down, which in turn reduces power to the rotor blades. Then you hear the horn warning of low rotor RPM. You can even hear the blade slap slow down,’ she explained.
The fire sparked by the crash also indicated there was still fuel on board, Tur noted.
Traditionally, when a helicopter’s rotors stop working, pilots try to gain momentum and upward flow on the rotor to increase their rotation, which helps keep the aircraft steady as it descends, said Jack Cress, a former helicopter pilot for the US Marine Corps and a helicopter accident investigation instructor at University of Southern California’s Aviation Safety and Security Program.
But because the helicopter appeared to be hovering in the air at a low altitude, it would be difficult for the pilot to maneuver.
‘In this case, he’s in the worst part of the high-velocity curve,’ Cress said, referring to a chart used by helicopter pilots that tracks height and air speed for safe flight conditions.
‘That is a dangerous place to be.’
Helicopter pilots are even trained to avoid those conditions because the lack of altitude and forward momentum give pilots little recourse if there is engine trouble.
But for news helicopters and police choppers, hovering and maintaining low altitude is a common practice, often referred to by helicopter pilots as a ‘dead man’s curve,’ said Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration investigator.
‘That’s the worst place to be if you have a problem.’
A mourner is pictured adjusting flowers at a memorial for Moreno and Marciniw at Whiteman Airport on Wednesday
The memorial for the slain reporter and pilot is pictured
The NTSB investigation will now gather as much data from the wreckage site as possible, Salazar said, as he urged anyone with information about the crash to reach out to the agency.
Once that portion of the investigation is complete, the helicopter will be moved to a secure facility so the agency could continue its examination and try to pull additional data from the wreckage.
The chopper’s maintenance logbooks and the weather will also be part of the investigation, and authorities will work to obtain surveillance footage from buildings near the crash scene to get a full picture of the sequence of events.
The news chopper was owned by Tiny Bubbles Aviation Inc, a holding company with a business address listed at Whiteman Airport.
Lawrence Welk, who is listed in public records as an agent of the company, is also president of Welk Aviation – a company that owns and operates news helicopters for KNBC and KTLA.
He confirmed to the LA Times that the company is working with investigators.
A preliminary report is expected to be completed in 30 days, but a final report listing probable cause can take up to 18 months to complete.