NBC4 news helicopter crashes in Los Angeles while covering deadly bus collision

Losangeles,UPDATED: Sep 16, 2026 10:18 IST

At least three people were killed after a local NBC news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighbourhood on Tuesday and burst into flames while reporters were covering a nearby collision between an SUV and a city bus, officials said.

The helicopter went down shortly before 7 pm near a storage building in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley. The bus crash it was covering had left at least two people dead and six injured, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

During a live broadcast, NBC4 Los Angeles anchor Colleen Williams confirmed that the station's helicopter had crashed. "We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, process it," she said, her voice shaking with emotion. Moments later, the channel's coverage was cut off.

Captain Branden Silverman, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said at least one of those killed in the helicopter crash was outside in the parking lot next to the commercial building. It was not immediately clear whether the other two people who died were on the ground or inside the aircraft. One person was taken to hospital, but their condition was not known.

"We're trying to determine how many patients were inside the helicopter," Silverman said. He described the aircraft as "pretty well destroyed" and said officials would sort through the wreckage to find out how many victims had been on board.

Officials said the fire from the crash spread to at least four cars and two storage containers on the ground, but it was quickly put out. More than 50 firefighters were sent to the scene.

About two hours earlier, an SUV had slammed into the middle of a city bus, killing at least two people and injuring six others. Images shared online showed half of the SUV lodged into the side of an MTA bus. NBCLA said the helicopter was NewsChopper4, operated by Angel City Air, and that several television news helicopters had been covering the bus crash before it went down about a mile and a half away.

California Governor Gavin Newsom thanked the emergency crews responding to both crashes and said in a post on X that "our hearts are with the victims and families". The Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said they would investigate the cause of the helicopter crash, with an NTSB investigator due to arrive on Wednesday.

The helicopter crash happened as news crews were covering a deadly bus collision nearby, leaving multiple people dead across both incidents as authorities continued to establish the full toll and investigate what caused the aircraft to go down.

With PTI Inputs

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