TITLE: George Marciniw Spoke With a Longtime Friend Days Before the LA Helicopter Crash — Then the Third Victim’s Story Emerged

A helicopter assignment over Los Angeles began like countless others, with a veteran crew covering breaking news from above the San Fernando Valley. Below them, firefighters and police were already dealing with a deadly Metro bus collision in Chatsworth, where two people had been killed. Shortly before 7 p.m. on September 15, something suddenly went terribly wrong. Witnesses later described seeing the aircraft lose altitude before flames erupted near a parking area close to Mason Avenue and Nordhoff Street. Emergency crews who were already nearby rushed toward the wreckage, where the helicopter had caught fire and nearby vehicles were burning. By the time the scene was secured, three people had died and two others had been taken for medical treatment.

NBC Los Angeles later confirmed that the aircraft was NewsChopper 4, operated by Angel City Air and providing aerial coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. Reporter Eliana “Eli” Moreno and pilot George Marciniw had been aboard, both experienced professionals whose work had become familiar to Southern California viewers. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board began examining the Eurocopter AS 350 B2, while the Federal Aviation Administration opened a separate review involving operational and compliance matters. Neither agency had established an official cause. But as investigators focused on the aircraft, grieving relatives and longtime colleagues began revealing personal details that transformed the crash from a breaking-news headline into something far more intimate — including the identity of a third victim and one conversation Marciniw had only days before his final flight.

That third victim was Edy Fernando Gutiérrez Mejía, a 29-year-old Guatemalan man who had reportedly arrived in Los Angeles just hours earlier and was on the ground when the helicopter came down. Two other Guatemalan citizens traveling with him, described as his cousin and a friend, were injured. Relatives said Gutiérrez Mejía had traveled for work connected with shipments of clothing, vehicles and spare parts back to Guatemala, but they remembered him most for his humor and willingness to help with community events. His family later launched a fundraiser with a $4,500 goal to help with funeral, burial and transportation expenses after learning that consular assistance would not cover the cost of returning his body home. Those unexpected costs can be overwhelming for any estate, especially when there is no opportunity to prepare through insurance, savings, an investment account or other financial planning. Unlike disputes that may eventually involve an attorney, mortgage documents or court filings, this family’s immediate concern was much simpler and more painful: bringing Edy home.

Then came the detail that made Marciniw’s death especially difficult for one longtime friend to process. Fellow helicopter pilot Esteban Jimenez said he had known Marciniw since the 1990s, had once trained under him, and had spoken with him on the Sunday before the Tuesday crash. Their conversation had seemed ordinary at the time. They talked about the aviation business — and about retirement. Jimenez said Marciniw appeared to be approaching the point when he might finally step away from the career that had defined much of his life. Marciniw had reportedly accumulated more than 14,000 hours of helicopter flight experience, while Moreno had spent years reporting from the air. In the aftermath, the contrast was especially painful: one victim had only just arrived in Los Angeles, while another had been talking about leaving aviation behind. For the people who loved them, those unfinished plans are now among the details that remain impossible to forget.