Chatsworth: Three people were killed and another injured after an NBC4 news helicopter crashed and burst into flames in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, on Tuesday evening while covering a deadly SUV-bus collision. The cause of the helicopter crash was not immediately known.
An NBC Los Angeles news helicopter crashed while covering a deadly bus crash live#NBCNews #LosAngeles #HelicopterCrash #BreakingNews #BusCrash #NewsAlert #USNews pic.twitter.com/Gb4Vjhyvfk
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The helicopter went down around 7 p.m. between two commercial buildings in the 9100 block of Mason Avenue, a few blocks from the earlier crash scene. NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams said the station lost contact with its Chopper 4 team before confirming the crash around 9 p.m.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said one person on the ground and two people aboard the helicopter were killed. A fourth person was taken to a hospital.
The helicopter crashed into truck cargo containers in a driveway, setting four nearby vehicles on fire. The warehouses were not damaged. Firefighters and police extinguished the flames by 7:30 p.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.
Earlier, three people were killed and up to six injured when an SUV struck a Metro Line 166 bus at 5:02 p.m.
The bus was traveling eastbound on Nordhoff Street when the SUV collided with it near De Soto Avenue.
Several people were trapped and had to be extricated by rescuers, including one person found beneath the bus. Fifty-six LAFD personnel responded to the scene.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
The crash also recalled an aviation tragedy involving NBC4 in 1977, when reporter Francis Gary Powers and cameraman George Spears were killed in a helicopter crash while returning from a brushfire assignment.
