LA news helicopter crashed in birthplace of ‘eye-in-the-sky’ reporting

Los Angeles has been viewed from above by news helicopters for nearly seven decades. When there was a wildfire, a mudslide or O.J. Simpson fleeing the police across its ribbons of highway, an “eye in the sky” tracked it and advised millions how to keep out of harm’s way.

On Tuesday, one of those flying newsrooms crashed live on-air and burst into flames, killing three people while reporters were covering the collision of an SUV and a city bus. NBC4 Los Angeles reported that two people aboard the helicopter — Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw — were killed, and fire officials said another person, Edy Gutierrez Mejia, died on the ground. It was a horrifying addition to at least eight fatal crashes involving news helicopters in the U.S. since 2000, in which 16 people have been killed.

Moreno, known widely as “Eli in the Heli,” had been an aerial journalist since 2010, mastering a demanding form of reporting that requires editing, shooting video, intimate knowledge of a city — and quick thinking.

“After working 76 hours since Sunday, I’m almost done!” she posted to Instagram on Sept. 29, 2023. “I can’t complain though because I have the best job…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business