CHATSWORTH Helicopter Crash, LOS ANGELES: Three people were killed and a fourth was taken to hospital after a news helicopter crashed and burst into flames in Chatsworth on Tuesday night, only a short distance from the scene of a separate deadly Metro bus collision.
The helicopter went down just before 7 p.m. in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue, between two commercial buildings, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The crash sparked a fire that spread to vehicles and other property nearby.
Fire officials said four vehicles and two storage containers were damaged or destroyed in the incident. The condition of the person who survived was not immediately available.
What happened before the helicopter went down?
The helicopter was operating over the west San Fernando Valley, where television news crews had gathered to cover a serious crash involving a Los Angeles Metro bus.
NBC Los Angeles confirmed that the aircraft involved was a news helicopter and reported that several television news helicopters were in the area covering the Metro bus collision.
KTLA reported that several police and news helicopters were also above the bus crash scene when the helicopter went down. According to that report, the helicopter crash occurred less than a quarter mile from the Metro collision.
The two incidents were close in both distance and time, but the available information does not establish that the bus crash caused or contributed to the helicopter crash.
The cause of the helicopter crash remained unclear in the latest information available.
Crash triggered fire and damaged nearby vehicles
The impact was followed by a fire at the crash site. Aerial footage from the area showed people running from the vicinity while police vehicles and firefighters moved toward the flames.
Firefighters launched an offensive attack on the fire and extinguished it. Emergency crews then removed four victims from the aircraft for medical assessment, according to fire officials.
Three of the four people were pronounced dead. The fourth person was hospitalized. Authorities had not released the ages or genders of those killed at the time of the reports.
Helicopter badly damaged in crash
The aircraft was so heavily damaged that firefighters were initially unable to determine its tail identification number.
LAFD public information officer Brandon Silverman said crews would need to go through the wreckage to determine additional details, including identifying the aircraft and confirming information about those on board.
KTLA reported that multiple news outlets said KNBC-TV had lost contact with a helicopter crew that had been covering the nearby bus crash.
NBC Los Angeles separately confirmed that the crashed aircraft was a news helicopter.
Deadly Metro bus crash happened nearby
The helicopter crash unfolded close to another major emergency in Chatsworth.
The Metro bus collision occurred at about 5 p.m. near West Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue. Two people were killed and six others were hospitalized in that crash, according to KTLA. The report said the bus was struck from the side by a vehicle that became lodged in the left side of the transit bus.
It was while news crews were covering that collision that the helicopter crashed nearby.
What is known about the investigation?
There was some difference in the early reporting about the precise status of the federal investigation.
KTLA reported that the Los Angeles Police Department said the National Transportation Safety Board would lead the investigation.
NBC Los Angeles, meanwhile, reported that an NTSB spokesperson said the agency was gathering information and would decide whether to send investigators.
What caused the helicopter to go down had not been established in the available reports. No conclusion had been announced about a mechanical problem, pilot action, weather, air traffic or any other possible factor.
Until the authorities find out exactly what took place, the incident will be confined to the following: A news helicopter flying around the site of a deadly Metro bus accident crashed between business buildings at around 7 p.m., burst into flames, and caused three fatalities and one hospitalization.
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