An engaged reporter, a soon-to-retire pilot and a young tourist: What we know about the L.A. helicopter crash victims

Los Angeles Helicopter Crash Leaves Families Mourning Three Lives Cut Short

Earthguardiansonline.com – A news helicopter crash in a commercial area of Los Angeles on Tuesday evening claimed the lives of two experienced members of a television flight crew and a young visitor who had only arrived in the city hours earlier.

Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist and reporter preparing for marriage, and veteran pilot George Marciniw were working aboard a Eurocopter AS350 operated by Angel City Air. The aircraft was gathering footage of a deadly bus collision in Chatsworth, about 25 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, when it went down in a business parking lot.

Edy Gutierrez Mejia, a tourist from Guatemala, was fatally struck after the helicopter crashed. At least two other people were hospitalized with injuries, officials said.

The helicopter had been assigned to work for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. Video captured during the descent appears to include engine-power trouble and an alert related to slowing main rotor blades. The reason for the crash has not been determined.

The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting the investigation. A preliminary account is expected within 30 days, while a final determination of probable cause may take as long as 18 months.

Eliana Moreno’s Career and Life Beyond the Camera

Moreno had built a career around telling Los Angeles-area stories from above. Her colleague Lynette Romero said Moreno had dreamed of becoming a news reporter from an early age.

“She was just such a light, such a spark plug,” Romero said. “She’s teeny-tiny but she had the biggest heart and enthusiasm, it was really contagious.”

Born in Orange County, Moreno graduated from Chapman University in 2010, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. She joined Angel City Air in September of that year and went on to report for several regional outlets.

Her work received recognition in 2023, when she earned a Radio and Television News Association of Southern California award for Best TV Continuing Coverage. She and Marciniw had flown together since 2023, forming a familiar team during coverage of brush fires, shootings, police pursuits and other breaking stories across the region.

Using the social media name “eli_in_the_heli,” Moreno offered audiences a view of the demanding work performed in a news aircraft. She explained how she operated a camera mounted at the front of the helicopter while narrating events from the cabin as the pilot managed the flight.

Those posts also reflected a full life away from work. Moreno loved animals and cared for dogs and chickens. Her profile described her as a dog and chicken mom, while references to her fiancé suggested the couple’s excitement about their future together.

She enjoyed line dancing and running. In May, Moreno celebrated completing a half-marathon in less than two hours with her fiancé, despite having asthma. Photos from the event showed the pair displaying their race medals.

A trip to Tennessee in October appeared to mark the couple’s engagement. Moreno shared video from the visit, showing her ring alongside her fiancé as “Counting My Blessings” played in the background.

“I will remember this trip to Tennessee for the rest of my life,” Moreno wrote.

Romero remembered Moreno’s pride when she introduced colleagues to the helicopter and explained its systems during a behind-the-scenes visit.

“She knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how to express it to our viewers,” Romero said.

A Veteran Pilot Nearing Retirement

Marciniw was an experienced pilot who had devoted years to aerial news coverage. He and Moreno worked closely, and photographs shared by the two over time showed the professional partnership they developed in the helicopter.

He had been planning to retire soon, bringing an end to a long aviation career. Instead, his family, colleagues and the news organizations that relied on his work are facing an abrupt and devastating loss.

News helicopter crews operate in a setting where reporting, photography, communication and aviation must all happen at once. Pilots are responsible for safely navigating busy airspace and changing conditions while crews document urgent events unfolding below. The work is often essential to live local coverage, yet it depends on close coordination between everyone aboard.

The loss of Moreno and Marciniw has also been felt by viewers accustomed to receiving real-time information from the sky during major Los Angeles stories. Their final assignment began as coverage of another tragedy and ended with a catastrophe that touched people on the ground as well as those in the aircraft.

A Visitor’s First Hours in Los Angeles

Gutierrez Mejia had traveled from Guatemala and arrived in Los Angeles only hours before the crash. His death adds another dimension to the tragedy: a young tourist far from home, caught in an event no one nearby could have anticipated.

As investigators examine the wreckage and flight evidence, the families of all three victims are left with a far more immediate reality. Moreno’s wedding plans, Marciniw’s anticipated retirement and Gutierrez Mejia’s visit to Los Angeles were all interrupted in a single evening.

For now, the investigation is expected to focus on the aircraft, its operation and the circumstances surrounding the loss of power suggested by the available video. Its eventual findings may help explain how the crash happened. They cannot undo the grief now facing the people who knew and loved those killed.