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Doomed NBC helicopter caught in ‘dead man’s curve’ when it fell out of the sky over Los Angeles

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Cite

O'Keefe, R. (2026, September 17). Doomed NBC helicopter caught in ‘dead man’s curve’ when it fell out of the sky over Los Angeles. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/17/us-news/nbc-helicopter-caught-in-dead-mans-curve-before-crash-in-la/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-17 · by Ross O'Keefe

Quick Summary

Experts suggest that the NBC helicopter crash over Los Angeles might have been caused by a "dead man's curve," where the aircraft had insufficient altitude and airspeed to perform an emergency autorotation maneuver after what appears to be an engine failure. The video of the crash shows alarms sounding and a mechanical whirring, followed by the reporter’s distressing final words before impact, which killed all on board and one pedestrian. Investigators are analyzing the wreckage and reviewing maintenance logs, weather conditions, and pilot training records for more information.
Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Tuesday evening, a news helicopter providing aerial coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 in Los Angeles crashed, resulting in three deaths including reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and pedestrian Edy Gutierrez Mejia. The helicopter was covering the scene of an earlier fatal bus crash involving an SUV, which killed two people and injured several others. Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter explode upon impact; it had been providing live coverage between 5pm and 7pm local time, when it went down in the Chatsworth area of San Fernando Valley. NBC4 confirmed that Moreno and Marciniw were colleagues who had worked together since 2023, flying "hundreds of hours" during their tenure. The helicopter model involved, a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 Ecureuil, has been linked to at least six fatal accidents this year globally.

Written for “Los Angeles Helicopter Crash” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 24 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Los Angeles Helicopter Crash
Crime & Law · 25 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Washington Examiner
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 70/100
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 4 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 6 of 31 claims Outlet record 66/100
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 18 claims Outlet record 68/100
NBC News
Outlet record 60/100
NBC News
Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
25
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15868 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ross O'Keefe
98 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Ross O'Keefe
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 98 articles by Ross O'Keefe →

Topics

Federal Aviation Administration NBC NTSB National Transportation Safety Board the LA Times

Subjects

NTSB ORG · 3× Marciniw PERSON · 2× Moreno PERSON · 2× NBC ORG · 2× Federal Aviation Administration ORG · 1× Jack Cress PERSON · 1× Jeff Guzzetti PERSON · 1× National Transportation Safety Board ORG · 1× the LA Times ORG · 1× the U.S. Marine Corps ORG · 1×

Narrative

But a helicopter with little airspeed or height can struggle to generate the necessary rotation, Jack Cress, a former helicopter pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps and a helicopter accident investigation instructor at USC’s Aviation Safety and Security Program, said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 The doomed NBC helicopter that crashed in LA may have been caught in a terrible predicament because of the flight conditions the aircraft encountered while covering a bus crash, experts have warned.

Claims (25 extracted, 3 hedged)

The doomed NBC helicopter that crashed in LA may have been caught in a terrible predicament because of the flight conditions the aircraft encountered while covering a bus crash, experts have warned. uncertain
experts → doom → crash
Those in the industry say the helicopter could have been snagged in a “dead man’s curve,” a theoretical area where a chopper has little altitude or airspeed, making it highly difficult to salvage a landing with an emergency autorotation maneuver. uncertain
it → say → maneuver
“That’s the worst place to be if you have a problem,” Jeff Guzzetti, a former National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration investigator, told the LA Times. asserted
Guzzetti → ’ → Times
The exact airspeed and altitude of the NBC helicopter, a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 Ecureuil, at the time of what has been considered an engine failure is unknown. asserted
what → consider → time
But the news helicopter appeared to be stationary and floating just a few hundred feet above the ground while it covered a Metro bus collision. asserted
it → appear → collision
Standard procedure for an engine failure in helicopters is to perform an autorotation maneuver. asserted
procedure → perform → maneuver
Autorotation is done by intentionally lowering the helicopter to generate rotor speed by forcing air upward. asserted
Autorotation → do → air
But a helicopter with little airspeed or height can struggle to generate the necessary rotation, Jack Cress, a former helicopter pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps and a helicopter accident investigation instructor at USC’s Aviation Safety and Security Program, said. asserted
Cress → struggle → Program
“He’s in the worst part of the height-velocity curve,” Cress said. asserted
Cress → ’ → curve
A video of the crash offers some clues as to what reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw experienced as the helicopter went down. asserted
helicopter → offer → what
An alarm is heard beeping along with a whirring sound, which appeared to be akin to an engine slowing. asserted
which → hear → slowing
“You can hear something mechanical that is winding down in the background,” Guzzetti noted about the video. asserted
Guzzetti → hear → video
“It does seem like something mechanical suddenly happened to the helicopter while it was in stable flight.” Moreno is then heard saying, “Uh-oh.” asserted
Moreno → seem → flight
The helicopter then rapidly descends and shudders. asserted
helicopter → descend → ?
The news reporter asks if Marciniw can pull up. asserted
Marciniw → ask → ?
“Can you… you can’t pull up?” she said. asserted
she → pull → ?
The video ends with the chopper heading closer and closer to the ground until the video feed cuts out. asserted
feed → end → ground
The crash killed Moreno, Marciniw, and a pedestrian on the ground, Edy Gutierrez Mejia. asserted
crash → kill → ground
A fire erupted from the crash site, prompting firefighters to fight and put out the blaze. asserted
fire → erupt → blaze
NTSB investigator-in-charge Fabian Salazar called the video the “most important piece of evidence we have recovered so far.” asserted
we → call → evidence
He also noted that the NTSB can hear “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,” in the video. asserted
that → note → video
The NTSB and FAA are examining the wreckage and interviewing witnesses. asserted
NTSB → examine → witnesses
Investigators will also seek surveillance footage from nearby buildings and review the helicopter’s maintenance logbooks, weather conditions, and the pilot’s training. asserted
Investigators → seek → logbooks
The wreckage will later be moved to a secure facility for further examination. asserted
wreckage → move → examination
Salazar said a preliminary report is expected in about 30 days, while a final report identifying probable cause could take up to 18 months. uncertain
report → say → months
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