Archive · 16 Sep 2026
NBC4 News Helicopter Crashes Near Los Angeles Bus Collision
A television news helicopter crashed in Los Angeles while covering another crash.
The helicopter belonged to NBC4, also called KNBC-TV.
It fell in Chatsworth shortly before 7 p.m.
on Tuesday.
The aircraft caught fire near some buildings, containers, and parked vehicles.
Three people died, including one person on the ground.
Firefighters put out the flames, and one injured person was taken to a hospital.
Reports differed about how many people were aboard the helicopter, although NBC4 said two crew members died.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will examine what happened.
NBC4’s NewsChopper4 crashed and caught fire in Chatsworth shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Officials and NBC4 said three people were killed, including two aboard the helicopter and one person on the ground.
The crash occurred about 1.6 kilometers from an earlier SUV-Metro bus collision near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue.
One injured person was taken to a hospital, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The cause is unknown; the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.
- Who
- NBC4’s NewsChopper4 crew and people near the crash; officials reported three deaths, including one person on the ground.
- What
- A television news helicopter crashed, caught fire, and was largely destroyed while covering a nearby bus collision.
- When
- Tuesday evening, September 15, 2026, shortly before 7 p.m.
- Where
- Near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, about 1.6 kilometers from the earlier collision.
- Why
- The cause of the helicopter crash was unknown; it was covering an earlier SUV-Metro bus collision.
- Deaths
- Three people were reported killed.
- Helicopter
- NBC4’s NewsChopper4, also known as KNBC-TV’s news helicopter.
- Crash location
- A commercial area near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue in Chatsworth.
- Nearby incident
- An earlier collision involving an SUV and a Metro bus.
- Emergency response
- At least 56 firefighters extinguished the fire.
- Additional injuries
- One injured person was taken to a hospital.
- Investigation
- The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.
- Aircraft description
- Federal Aviation Administration records identified it as a 2004 Eurocopter AS350 B2, a single-engine utility helicopter.
