Newly released surveillance video captured the devastating moment an NBC Los Angeles news helicopter plunged to the ground, killing the reporter and pilot aboard.

NewsChopper4 was flying above a warehouse area near the intersection of Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue at about 7pm Tuesday. Reporter Eliana Moreno had been covering a fatal bus crash nearby when the aircraft suddenly went down.

Video from a nearby building obtained by NBC Los Angeles shows the helicopter falling rapidly before striking the ground.

Roughly 20 seconds after the aircraft crashed into the parking lot of a self-storage facility, smoke began rising from behind a container and steadily thickened and darkened.

About 50 seconds after impact, flames became visible. The resulting blaze destroyed nearby vehicles and two storage containers.

Moreno, 38, whose family issued a heartbreaking tribute Thursday, was pronounced dead at the scene alongside pilot George Marciniw, 70. Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29, a tourist from Guatemala, was also killed on the ground.

Federal investigators are expected to closely review the footage as they seek to establish why the Eurocopter AS350B2 suddenly plummeted.

‘I think the video will be helpful to investigators,’ NBC News aviation analyst Jeff Guzzetti told the network.

‘I see a high rate of descent,’ he said. ‘That is going to be helpful for investigators.’

Authorities with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have previously said they are focusing their investigation on the footage Moreno took onboard the helicopter.

It 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.

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 video is now at the center of the NTSB’s investigation as authorities work 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.

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‘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,’ Investigator in Charge Fabian Salazar declared at a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

‘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.’ 

Investigators will also 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.

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.

In the meantime, Moreno’s family asked that the public keep her, Marciniw, Mejia and the victims of the fatal bus crash in their prayers.

‘Since she was 11 years old, Eliana dreamed of becoming a news reporter,’ the family said in a statement. ‘Through hard work and courage, she turned that dream into a reality. So much of that journey was made possible by all of you who welcomed her into your homes and onto your screens. Your support meant more to her than you may ever know.

‘We find comfort in knowing that Eliana left this world doing the very thing she loved, pursuing the passion she carried with her since she was a little girl.’ 

 ‘On behalf of her parents, siblings, fiancé, stepsons and beloved dogs, we want to thank everyone for the overwhelming love you have shown our beautiful Eliana,’ the family continued. 

‘We are infinitely proud of her and feel incredibly blessed to have had the privilege of loving her and calling her ours. 

‘Please continue to keep Eliana, her pilot George, Edy Gutierrez Mejia and the souls lost in the bus collision in your thoughts and prayers,’ the family then pleaded. ‘Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.’

Moreno’s brother, Johan, also shared a statement on X, saying in part: ‘RIP sis, I will love you to the end of time.

‘My family and I just went through the worst day of our lives,’ he noted. ‘We appreciate all the support and love. Thank you for your well wishes and understanding.’ 

Three Georgia adults are facing criminal charges after allegedly forcing their way onto a school bus and taking children off the vehicle, claiming the driver had kept them inside for more than 30 minutes without air conditioning.

The confrontation happened Monday at Highland Trace Apartments in Lumpkin County, roughly an hour from Atlanta, as a substitute driver was bringing Cottrell Elementary School students home, according to the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said the driver, an eight-year veteran who was working that particular route for the first time, had dropped off students at the first of two scheduled stops in the apartment complex. When one child assigned to the second stop got off early, the driver told the student to get back on the bus.

While the substitute driver attempted to calm the remaining students and resume the route, parents came to the bus and insisted that additional children be allowed to exit.

The driver explained that the children were assigned to the next stop and needed to remain seated until the bus could continue, but the dispute intensified.

Parents gathered around the vehicle and spoke with students through its windows, authorities said, as the children’s behavior became increasingly disruptive.

With the situation escalating, the driver contacted the school for assistance, prompting another bus driver to head to the apartment complex.

Before help arrived, students activated the bus’s emergency-release system, allowing adults to board the vehicle and remove the children.

The adults accused the substitute driver of keeping the students on the bus for over half an hour without air conditioning.

Investigators said those allegations were unfounded. Authorities determined that the students had been behaving out of control before the bus had even departed from school grounds.

The children were accused of “yelling, fighting, moving between seats, throwing objects, and refusing to follow instructions,” which forced school administrators and an assistant principal to board the bus on “multiple occasions.”

Video obtained by police from inside the bus showed those issues continued during the route.

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Investigators found the children were on the bus for only 14 to 15 minutes before the second driver arrived — not the 30-plus minutes parents alleged.

There was no evidence the students were “intentionally held,” police said.

Police also found that the air conditioning had only been temporarily switched off while the bus climbed a steep portion of the route because it affected the performance of the gasoline-powered bus, and that the driver turned it back on before the confrontation with parents unfolded.

“The investigation found no evidence establishing that the driver intentionally withheld air conditioning as punishment, shut off the bus engine while the children were being held at the apartment complex, or ignored a clearly observable medical emergency,” the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators also noted school policy requires students to stay seated, follow the driver’s instructions and exit only at their designated stops.

Police said they found no probable cause to charge the driver with a crime.

The sheriff’s office issued arrest warrants for three adults on Wednesday accused of entering the bus, disrupting its operation and aggressively confronting the driver.

One of the adults, April Michelle Disspain, was issued warrants for simple battery, disrupting the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office said.

Disspain allegedly forced her way onto the bus, made physical contact with the driver, removed multiple children and used profane language in front of the students.

Tony Ray Chastain was issued warrants for disrupting the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct after investigators alleged he boarded the bus, yelled and cursed at the driver, demanded children be released and encouraged their unauthorized removal.

The third adult, Mariah Quinones, was issued a warrant for disrupting the operation of a public-school bus for allegedly boarding the bus and removing her child without authorization.

The investigation remains open, police said.

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Turkish authorities on Sunday began what rights groups describe as an unprecedented campaign against the country’s LGBT community, raiding gay bars and closing activist organizations. The government said the measures were intended to defend Turkey’s family values.

The nationwide operation has led to the arrest or detention of about 116 people in 15 provinces, targeting LGBT rights groups and individual activists. More than 160 additional people are under investigation through Turkey’s criminal justice system, Amnesty International said.

Amnesty also said that 180 social media accounts linked to LGBT organizations, activists, journalists and media outlets have been blocked or had their access restricted.

“This appalling escalation in Türkiye’s crackdown amounts to a full-scale assault on LGBTI rights and those who defend them. The relentless raids, arrests and demonization of LGBTI people under the spurious guise of ‘protecting the families’ demonstrates why defending LGBTI rights in Türkiye is more important than ever,” Esther Major, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for Europe, said in a statement.

In a post on X, Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the government would continue efforts to shield families, children and young people from what he called exploitation, obscenity, crime and harmful content.

Gürlek said the Justice Ministry had issued a broad directive to the country’s 175 chief public prosecutor offices across all 81 provinces, ordering action against content and conduct officials deem contrary to “public morality” or damaging to young people.

“The best interests of our children are not open to debate for us,” Gürlek said. “We will show no tolerance for any criminal organization targeting the institution of the family, the future of our youth, and the order of our society.”

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Turkey’s focus on family values and traditional norms is part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Decade of Family and Population vision, a long-term strategy aimed at tracking population trends and promoting an increased fertility rate to spur population growth.

Many see Erdoğan’s renewed emphasis on “family values,” and his targeting of groups he portrays as threats to those values, as an effort to cement his legacy.

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An enduring question asked by analysts as Erdogan ages and approaches another election in 2028 is what kind of Turkey he leaves behind.

“Erdoğan’s ‘family values’ agenda is about more than defending conservative values, it is about defining what kind of society Turkey should be and who belongs in it,” Gonul Tol, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told News Media.

“The LGBT community is a particularly useful target because Erdoğan can portray it simultaneously as a threat to the traditional family, a Western import, and a symbol of the cultural values he says his movement is fighting against,” Gonul added.

With protests against the moves beginning to take shape, the crackdowns show no signs of letting up, even as international attention and condemnation begins to pour in.

Police used pepper spray against peaceful protesters in İzmir, along Turkey’s Aegean coast, and detained more than 95 people on Tuesday who had gathered outside İstanbul Courthouse in protest.

Turkey, which officially became a candidate for the European Union in 1999, received strong pushback from the commission.

A European Commission spokesperson told News Media, “The Commission is concerned about the recent arrests and legal proceedings initiated against LGBTIQ+ activists, human rights associations, and businesses, as well as of the blockages of websites and social media accounts, accompanied with allegations concerning funding of civil society organizations. We are following developments closely.” 

The commission reiterated that Turkey, as an EU candidate and member of the Council of Europe, should promote and ensure respect for the human rights and dignity of all individuals, regardless of gender or sexual identity.

A spokesman for the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to requests for comment from News Media, nor did the U.S. Embassy in Ankara or the State Department.