3 dead after NBC Los Angeles NewsChopper4 crashes

hree people were killed and another person was hospitalized Tuesday night after NBC Los Angeles’ NewsChopper4 crashed in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles, authorities said. NBC Los Angeles confirmed the helicopter belonged to KNBC.

The helicopter went down shortly before 7 p.m. in the 9100 block of Mason Avenue, between two commercial buildings, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The aircraft crashed into a parking area and caught fire.

Three people were pronounced dead and a fourth person was taken to a hospital. At least one of those killed was on the ground when the helicopter crashed, according to the fire department. The condition of the hospitalized person was not immediately clear.

The crash happened near the scene of an earlier collision involving an SUV and a Metro bus in Chatsworth. News helicopters had been covering that crash before the helicopter went down.

NewsChopper4 is NBC Los Angeles’ helicopter used for aerial news coverage. KNBC has now confirmed that the aircraft involved in Tuesday’s crash was its helicopter.

Authorities have not publicly identified the people killed or the person who was hospitalized. The cause of the crash has not been determined.

Update – 11:13 PM PST
NBC News Los Angeles has confirmed that reporter and camera operator Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw, were the two killed on the helicopter when the crash occurred. The identity of the third person killed is not yet known.

This is a breaking news story. Information may be added, updated, or removed as new details become available.