Terrifying new dashcam footage shows moment doomed NBC helicopter falls out of the sky

The terrifying moment an NBC helicopter fell out of the sky and plunged into the ground near where an SUV had slammed into a Metro bus was caught on dashcam.

The video, obtained by KTLA, shows the helicopter descending, caught from afar on the vehicle camera of Yera Valencia.

She said: “I downloaded the video of my dashcam. It’s a little dot on the video. It’s a crisp video and it just goes down.”

She added: “God, it’s so close, it could have happened to anyone. My parents walk down the street.”

The two back-to-back Tuesday night crashes resulted in five deaths — two involving the bus and SUV, and three as a result of the chopper going down, killing reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and pedestrian Edy Gutierrez Mejia.

Moreno, a reporter for NBC4 and Telemundo 52, was aboard the helicopter along with Marciniw, who was piloting the aircraft when it went down. Mejia, 29, was on the ground when the helicopter crashed near a commercial area, according to authorities.

The helicopter had been providing aerial news coverage of the earlier bus crash, with multiple television choppers arriving over the Chatsworth scene as emergency crews worked to rescue victims.

The deadly sequence began around 5:03 p.m. Tuesday, when a sport utility vehicle slammed into the side of a Metro bus near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue. The SUV became lodged halfway inside the bus in the violent T-bone collision.

Two people — Gage Weida, 31, and Daniel Castillo, 46 — were killed in the bus crash, while six others were injured, including the SUV driver, 36-year-old Bailee Lynn Rios.

Rios was later booked in connection with the crash and is being held on $4.03 million bail. Police previously said she was suspected of reckless driving, running a red light and possible DUI.

As firefighters and other emergency personnel responded to the wreck, news helicopters began arriving in the area between roughly 6 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. to capture aerial footage of the rescue operation.

Then, around 6:55 p.m., the NewsChopper4 helicopter operated by Angel City Air suddenly began losing altitude while covering the scene.

An audible low-rotor-RPM warning alarm could be heard inside the cockpit shortly before the helicopter went down. Crew audio captured one person saying “uh oh,” followed by “You can’t pull up?” as the aircraft rapidly descended.

The helicopter ultimately crashed roughly 1.5 miles from the original bus collision, between two commercial buildings near a storage facility, bursting into flames upon impact.

More than 70 firefighters and dozens of police vehicles rushed to the helicopter crash site around 7 p.m., where the wreckage also ignited four cars and two storage containers, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The horror was unfolding live on NBC4, where anchor Colleen Williams broke down after the station confirmed it had lost contact with its helicopter crew.

The station and Telemundo 52 later released a statement mourning those killed.

“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.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the helicopter crash.

“The LAPD stands with the Chatsworth Community, our media partners, and all those impacted as we collectively grieve and support one another,” the LAPD said.

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