Politics
NEW: Veteran NBC Anchor Breaks Down In Tears After Beloved Colleagues Die In Tragedy
A veteran NBC Los Angeles anchor was overcome with emotion after learning that two longtime colleagues had been killed in the fiery crash of a news helicopter in Chatsworth.
Robert Kovacik, who has worked for NBC since 2004, was seen wiping away tears and sitting inside a police vehicle just feet from the wreckage after NewsChopper4 went down Tuesday evening.
Aerial journalist Eliana Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw were killed when the helicopter crashed while covering a deadly collision involving a Metro bus and an SUV.
A third person, 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, was killed on the ground.
Kovacik had worked alongside Moreno and Marciniw for years and was reporting from the crash scene as the horrifying reality began to sink in.
Video from the scene showed the longtime reporter visibly shaken as first responders and fellow journalists gathered nearby.
He later went live from Chatsworth and struggled through an emotional report.
“You think about it ladies, as we deal with this day of dueling tragedies here in Chatsworth, we were just getting ready to come on air for the NBC 4 news at 7:00 tonight and we were there,” he said.
“Colleen and Carolyn, we are surrounded by this community…members of the media and colleagues from across Southern California, as well as the LAFD and the LAPD and members of the city all coming together tonight.”
A veteran NBC anchor sat broken in a police car after learning his colleagues had just died in a tragic helicopter crash in Los Angeles’ Chatsworth neighborhood. 💔 https://t.co/pQC2PWquN3 pic.twitter.com/xOSVFdL5P5
— California Post (@californiapost) September 16, 2026
“In Chatsworth, I’m Robert Kovacik,” he signed, his eyes glassy. “Let’s go back to you.”
Kovacik had appeared unsettled even before officials confirmed that NewsChopper4 was the aircraft that had crashed.
“I just saw a colleague of mine from ABC in tears and concern,” he said. “We don’t know where the chopper is from. We don’t know if it even is a chopper. We don’t know if it is a news chopper.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was later seen embracing Kovacik near the crash scene as colleagues and officials mourned the victims.
Moreno was a familiar voice to viewers of NBC4 and Telemundo 52 and had spent years covering wildfires, police pursuits and breaking news from the air.
Marciniw was a veteran pilot with decades of aviation experience and also worked as a flight instructor.
RELATED: VIDEO: News Helicopter Crashes In Los Angeles; Beloved Journalist Dead
The pair had flown “hundreds of hours” together, according to NBC.
Their helicopter was covering the aftermath of a separate deadly crash when it suddenly went down shortly before 7 p.m. in a parking lot near a storage business.
The cause remains under investigation.
Video and audio captured during the helicopter’s final moments are now being examined by the National Transportation Safety Board as investigators work to determine what caused the aircraft to fall from the sky.
NBC4 and Telemundo 52 released a joint statement mourning the loss of their colleagues.
“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. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
The crash capped a devastating evening in Chatsworth, where five people died between the earlier bus collision and the helicopter tragedy.
