A Guatemalan man who had been in Los Angeles for just two days has been identified as the third victim of a deadly news helicopter crash as authorities probe a live broadcast to determine what went wrong.
asserted
what → identify → broadcast
Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29, better known as Pichi, was killed on the ground when News Chopper 4 went down in a parking lot in Chatsworth just before 7pm on Tuesday night while reporter Eliana 'Eli' Moreno was covering a fatal bus collision.
asserted
Moreno → know → collision
NBC 4 Los Angeles reporter Moreno, 38, and her pilot, George Marciniw, 70, were also killed when the helicopter crashed into the ground and caught fire.
asserted
helicopter → kill → fire
Mejia had been planning to pick up a car and take it back to his hometown of Cuilapa to sell at the time of the crash, his cousin told NBC News, noting that the family is now working to send his remains back to Guatemala.
asserted
family → plan → Guatemala
'This terrible and unforeseen tragedy has left an unfillable void and unimaginable grief in our entire family,' Karla Padilla further shared in an online fundraiser to help the family with Mejia's funeral expenses.
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Padilla → leave → expenses
'Those who knew Edy know what a wonderful person he was, always full of life, kindness and love for his loved ones.
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he → know → ones
Mejia's social media profile showed him spending time with loved ones as he played soccer and traveled.
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he → show → soccer
The Cuilapa mayor's office mourned his loss in a statement on social media, saying: 'We offer our prayers for eternal rest and ask our Lord God to grant the family patience during these moments of sorrow.
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We → mourn → sorrow
Edy Fernando Gutiérrez Mejia, 29, was killed on the ground when News Chopper 4 went down in a parking lot in Chatsworth just before 7pm on Tuesday night
Longtime NBC reporter Eliana 'Eli' Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw, 70, were also killed
As the helicopter plummeted into the ground, it struck a massive fire
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it → kill → 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.
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who → remember → pursuits
She began her career in the air after graduating from Chapman University in 2010, where she studied broadcast journalism and political science.
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she → begin → journalism
Moreno had worked at KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 before joining NBC and flying aboard NewsChopper4 around 2018 or 2019.
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Moreno → work → 2018
Marciniw was an experienced pilot who had logged more than 14,000 hours in the helicopter.
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who → log → helicopter
Their deaths shocked reporters at the Los Angeles news station, who were on the ground covering the helicopter crash.
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who → shock → 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.
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station → remain → helicopter
'We have lost contact with our people,' she said as the station's reporters on the scene choked up.
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reporters → lose → scene
Williams later confirmed that the news helicopter was from NBC Los Angeles before the news station took a break.
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station → confirm → 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.
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she → elect → Kovacik
Moreno worked at KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 before joining NBC.
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Moreno → work → 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
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Bass → graduate → 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.
uncertain
Salazar → analyze → 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.
'
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agency → take → 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.
uncertain
whirl → hear → 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.
uncertain
speed → wind → pilot
At that point, Moreno could be heard quietly saying 'Uh oh.
uncertain
Moreno → hear → point
As the angle of the camera then begins to descend and shake, the reporter could be heard asking Marciniw: 'You can't pull up?'
uncertain
You → begin → Marciniw
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.
uncertain
crash → analyze → 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.
'
asserted
engine → operate → crash
First, the engine starts winding down, which in turn reduces power to the rotor blades.
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which → start → blades
Then you hear the horn warning of low rotor RPM.
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horn → hear → RPM
You can even hear the blade slap slow down,' she explained.
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she → hear → ?
The fire sparked by the crash also indicated there was still fuel on board, Tur noted.
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Tur → spark → board
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.
asserted
Cress → stop → 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.
'
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pilot → appear → altitude
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.
asserted
that → say → conditions
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.
asserted
lack → train → recourse
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.
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Guzzetti → hover → curve
'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.
asserted
he → have → 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.
uncertain
agency → move → 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.
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authorities → work → events
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
