Eliana Moreno had recently celebrated major milestones with her fiancé before the NBC Los Angeles aerial photojournalist was killed in a helicopter crash.
Robert Barrientos was beside Moreno during some of the moments she proudly shared before her death. Their posts documented a relationship that had reached several significant milestones in the months before the fatal crash.
An aerial view shows the scene of the fatal helicopter crash in Chatsworth, California, on September 16, 2026. Three people were killed when the NBC4 Los Angeles helicopter crashed and caught fire near the site of an earlier fatal collision involving an SUV and a Metro bus. | Source: Getty Images
Moreno and Barrientos Were Engaged Before the Crash
Moreno publicly confirmed her engagement to Barrientos months before her death. On October 28, 2025, her Facebook account showed an “Engaged to Robert” relationship update.
The following day, Moreno shared an Instagram video from a trip to Tennessee. In the video, she showed a ring on her hand and later displayed it while standing beside Barrientos.
“I will remember this trip to Tennessee for the rest of my life. 💍 🧡,” Moreno wrote.
Moreno shared this image with Barrientos during a Tennessee trip in October 2025. The post came one day after she announced their engagement on Facebook, and the accompanying video showed her displaying a ring. | Source: Instagram/eli_in_the_heli
The engagement remained part of Moreno’s public posts in the months that followed.
Barrientos Was Beside Moreno for a Major Milestone in May
In May, Moreno shared another milestone with Barrientos when the couple completed a half-marathon together.
NBC News also reported that Moreno and her fiancé had run the race together.
The accomplishment was significant for Moreno, who said on Instagram that she had “always” had bad asthma. She wrote that she had been medically excused from running in school because it was “guaranteed to send me into an asthma attack.”
Moreno began 2026 with a goal of running one mile by the end of the year. Instead, she eventually completed the OC Marathon half-marathon with Barrientos in under two hours.
“I ran the half-marathon at the @ocmarathon with my fiancé @rob3rt_z in under two hours!” she wrote.
Moreno and Barrientos posed with their medals after completing the OC Marathon half-marathon in May. Moreno had started the year with a goal of running one mile after years of being medically excused from running in school because of her asthma. | Source: Instagram/eli_in_the_heli
The race was among the milestones Moreno publicly shared with Barrientos before her death.
NBC News later sought comment from Barrientos about Moreno. He did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request. His Instagram profile, however, contained a personal reference to his late fiancée.
On Wednesday, his bio referenced Psalm 40, which the Los Angeles Daily News reported leads to the verse: “I wait for the Lord, who bends down to me and hears my cry.” The final line contained Moreno’s first name, “Eliana,” followed by a red heart.
Red roses were left at the entrance to the NBC4 helicopter crash site in Chatsworth on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. The memorial appeared a day after the crash killed three people, including aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. | Source: Getty Images
As we previously reported, what began as breaking-news coverage of a deadly accident in Los Angeles ended in a second fatal crash. Footage from the helicopter’s final moments has since surfaced, capturing an exchange shortly before the feed cut out.
The NBC Los Angeles helicopter crashed Tuesday evening, September 15, 2026, while its crew was covering a fatal collision involving a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle.
Three people were killed, including Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and a person who appeared to have been on the ground. The footage now provides a record of what was heard from the aircraft shortly before it went down.
Eliana “Eli” Moreno and pilot George Marciniw pose in front of their news helicopter in a photo taken during their years working together in aerial news coverage. | Source: Facebook/George Marciniw
A News Assignment Turns Into Another Tragedy
According to NBC News, the helicopter crashed in a parking lot near a self-storage facility in Chatsworth, a community in the San Fernando Valley. The aircraft was operated by Angel City Air, and NBC Los Angeles said it lost contact with the people aboard.
NBC Los Angeles later identified Moreno and Marciniw as the two people inside. Both worked for Angel City Air, with Moreno known to viewers of NBC Los Angeles and its Spanish-language sister station, Telemundo 52.
The realization of what had happened unfolded painfully on air. “We knew it was a news chopper, we knew we’d lost contact with our people out there, and we’ve just received the confirmation that, in fact, NewsChopper 4 went down just before 7 o’clock tonight in Chatsworth,” Anchor Colleen Williams said.
Her voice became emotional as she added, “We’re going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process and to regroup.” NBC L.A. morning Co-Anchor Lynette Romero later said the team is “heartbroken” and thinking about Moreno and Marciniw’s families.
“They were both doing what they loved so much and for me, that’s comfort in knowing how happy they were. They loved breaking news, and they loved being in News Chopper 4,” Romero said Wednesday on NBC’s “TODAY” show.
First Responders Found the Helicopter Engulfed in Flames
The original incident the helicopter had been covering unfolded hours earlier on Nordhoff Street. The Los Angeles Fire Department said the bus collision occurred at 5:03 p.m. Firefighters worked to free people who were trapped and assess the passengers aboard the bus. Two people were killed in that collision, while others were injured.
Emergency crews respond to a deadly Metro bus collision in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, on Tuesday evening, shortly before the NBC4 news helicopter crashed nearby. | Source: Getty Images
NewsChopper 4 was reportedly one of multiple aircraft covering the scene when the second disaster unfolded shortly before 7 p.m. Fire and police personnel were already nearby because of the earlier collision and rushed toward the helicopter wreckage.
According to Fire Capt. Branden Silverman, they found the aircraft engulfed in flames, with the fire spreading to vehicles parked nearby.
According to Fire Battalion Chief Rico A. Gross, three people were dead at the scene, while two others were taken to a hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available. One of the three people killed appeared to have been a pedestrian on the ground when the aircraft came down, Silverman said.
Firefighters respond at the scene of the fatal helicopter crash in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, as emergency crews work amid the wreckage and flames. | Source: Getty Images
A Witness Knew Something Was Wrong
Zareh Sevanesian was driving nearby with his wife, Allyona, when something about the helicopter caught his attention. “As we were driving, I looked over to my left,” he recalled. “I saw the helicopter — something didn’t look right. And I told my wife, ‘That helicopter is not flying right.'”
Sevanesian said the aircraft appeared to be swaying before it began gradually losing altitude. “It was just getting lower and lower and lower and lower,” he said. He pulled over near the scene after the crash, where flames were already roaring. “It was one of the most violent fires I had ever seen,” Sevanesian recalled.
He said he soon encountered a person down near the wreckage and three other people who were “screaming uncontrollably.” “It was very terrifying and sad for everyone,” Allyona added.
NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Mourn Their Colleagues
NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 released a joint statement expressing their grief after the deaths were confirmed. “We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 was involved in a fatal accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening,” the stations said.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.” Moreno was born in Orange County and graduated from Chapman University in 2010 with a degree in broadcast journalism and political science, according to NBC Los Angeles.
She joined Angel City Air’s helicopter team that same year and went on to report for multiple Southern California news outlets. Marciniw also grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School, the station reported.
Eliana “Eli” Moreno and pilot George Marciniw pose together in a photo shared on Marciniw’s Facebook page, standing in front of a news helicopter during their years working together in aerial news coverage. | Source: Facebook/George Marciniw
The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it would be involved in the investigation, which the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) would lead.
The NTSB said it was “investigating the Sept. 15 crash of a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 helicopter in Chatsworth, California,” and that investigators were expected at the scene Wednesday morning.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass described it as “a heartbreaking night for our city” while praising the first responders who reacted to both tragedies.
“We lost five Angelenos today,” she said, “and my heart certainly goes out to the family and friends of all of those that we lost.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also offered condolences, saying, “Our hearts are with the victims and families of tonight’s devastating Metro bus and helicopter crashes in Chatsworth, and with the entire NBC4 family.”
Moreno’s Final Public Message Came Days Earlier
In the aftermath of the crash, even an otherwise lighthearted social media exchange from Moreno has taken on a heartbreaking significance. Just days before her death, Moreno posted a brief response on X on September 11. “Thank you Danny! It’s okay…I blame it on jet lag. 😅,” she wrote.
At the time, there was nothing remarkable about the cheerful post. Four days later, however, Moreno would be aboard NewsChopper 4 during what became its final flight.
And it is footage apparently recorded from that helicopter that has now emerged as one of the most chilling elements of the story.
The Final Footage Captured a Sudden Change
A video circulating on Facebook shows the helicopter’s aerial coverage of the aftermath of the bus collision. The accompanying caption described it as “The final moments of footage from the helicopter that was broadcasting LIVE as it crashed,” adding that preliminary reports indicated Moreno was aboard.
At first, the footage shows the scene below from the aircraft’s elevated vantage point as the crew continues gathering material. Then, the mood abruptly changes.
Hooting from the ground can be heard carrying through the air as the camera zooms out. The helicopter appears to move before beginning to descend.
The aircraft continues dropping, and the footage becomes increasingly unsettling. Another post sharing the footage on X captures the same terrifying sequence as the helicopter’s movement becomes more erratic. Then comes the moment that makes the clip particularly difficult to hear.
A Haunting Question Is Heard Before the Video Ends
As the helicopter descends, a voice presumed to be Moreno’s can be heard in the background. “What? You can’t pull up?” the voice says.
Almost immediately afterward, the helicopter begins jolting violently while continuing downward. The video then cuts.
The footage does not, on its own, establish what caused the helicopter to go down, and investigators are now tasked with determining what happened during those final moments.
Still, the combination of the rapidly descending aircraft, the increasingly violent movement, and that brief question captured from inside the helicopter offers a devastating glimpse into the seconds before contact was lost.
