NBC Nightly News opens on a devastating day in Los Angeles
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas led its Sept. 16 episode with continued coverage of a devastating day in Los Angeles after NewsChopper4 crashed in Chatsworth while covering another fatal accident.
Three people were killed in the helicopter crash: aerial journalist Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground. Moreno and Marciniw were working aboard the helicopter as it provided coverage for NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52.
NBC Nightly News
Remembering the NewsChopper4 Crew
NBC Los Angeles remembers aerial journalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw following the Chatsworth helicopter tragedy.
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The helicopter had been covering the aftermath of a collision involving an SUV and a Metro bus in the San Fernando Valley. That earlier crash killed two people and left six others hospitalized, meaning two separate tragedies unfolded within hours of one another in Chatsworth.
NewsChopper4 was owned and operated by Angel City Air. Federal investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board began examining the crash Wednesday, with investigators saying video and audio recorded during the live coverage would be an important part of the investigation. The cause of the helicopter crash has not yet been determined.
The loss hit especially close to home for NBC. Moreno was a familiar aerial voice for Southern California viewers, reporting in both English and Spanish for NBCLA and Telemundo 52, while Marciniw was a longtime Southern California pilot. The episode returns to both of them near the end of the broadcast for a remembrance.
Plus, so-so much more from the Sept. 16 broadcast
Beyond the Los Angeles lead story, the full episode moves through a packed national rundown:
- The latest Federal Reserve interest-rate decision.
- Congressional debate surrounding the Iran war.
- Deadly flash flooding across the Southwest.
- A passenger accused of becoming violent aboard a flight who was restrained and duct-taped to his seat.
- Developments in an investigation involving missing women in Philadelphia.
- A Louisiana caretaker accused of giving bleach to a client unable to care for himself.
- And, in a much lighter turn, a golden retriever repeatedly greeting an intruder with a toy during a home break-in.
Images: NBC News / YouTube.
It is a heavy opening to the evening broadcast, but Nightly News also makes room for the rest of the day’s stories before circling back to Moreno and Marciniw. Dig out the full episode right below.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas full episode — Sept. 16, 2026
The 20-minute NBC News broadcast leads with the Los Angeles NewsChopper4 tragedy and closes with a remembrance of Eliana Moreno and George Marciniw.
Source: NBC News; NBC Los Angeles.
