LOS ANGELES, CA — Federal investigators on Wednesday began their work of piecing together what caused both the fatal crash of a news helicopter and a nearby deadly SUV-versus-bus crash in what authorities expect to be a monthslong investigation.
Reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw were aboard NewsChopper4 when it crashed shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday between two commercial buildings in Chatsworth, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
A third person, later identified by the county Medical examiner's Office as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, was killed on the ground. Two other people on the ground were also injured, fire authorities said.
Video transmitted from the helicopter just seconds before the crash included an audible cockpit alarm, which the National Transportation Safety Board is viewing is crucial evidence.
Just after the beeping noise starts, a woman's voice says "uh oh." The helicopter moves quickly away from the bus crash site and starts losing altitude. The woman says "You can't pull up?" before the video stops as the chopper nears the ground.
At an afternoon news briefing near the crash scene, NTSB investigator in charge Fabian Salazar said "that video is probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far."
"What we are going to do is get a pristine copy of that recording and send it to our recorder's lab for a sound spectrum analysis," Salazar said. "Because in that recording, we are clearly hearing sounds that are consistent with the engine changing its speed. And we're also hearing tones that are being generated that are likely advisories to the pilot. So it's important that we get that recording to our lab so that they can be downloaded and we can get to that factual evidence that way."
The helicopter is not believed to have been equipped with a flight data recorder, Salazar said.
He said investigators were at the scene of the crash Wednesday "gathering as much factual data as we can." After that, the aircraft wreckage will be moved to a secure facility for further examination.
Authorities will look at evidence including maintenance logbooks, weather conditions and the pilot's training as part of its investigation, he said.
Investigators are also seeking any surveillance video that captured the helicopter during the crash. He urged any residents with information regarding the crash to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
Salazar stressed that no conclusions would be reached immediately regarding the cause of the crash, noting that a preliminary report will be issued in about 30 days, "followed by a final report with a probable cause, which, depending on the circumstances of the accident, can go out to about 18 months."
The helicopter had been covering a deadly collision involving an SUV and a Metro bus near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue when it crashed. The NTSB said it is also investigating that collision.
The driver of the SUV, 36-year-old Bailee Lynn Rios of Simi Valley, was later arrested on suspicion of murder. She was being held on $4 million bail as of Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police said their preliminary investigation revealed Rios was traveling southbound in a 2004 Ford Expedition on the northbound side of De Soto Avenue when she ran a red light at Nordhoff Street. She nearly missed hitting another vehicle on Nordhoff before colliding with a Metro bus traveling eastbound on Nordhoff Street, near the intersection of De Soto Avenue, police said.
"The impact fully ejected one passenger from the bus and partially ejected a second," police said.
Paramedics pronounced two people dead at the scene. One other person sustained severe injuries, while several others suffered non-life-threatening injuries are were transported to local hospitals, according to the LAPD
In total, six people were hospitalized, police said.
The county medical examiner on Wednesday identified the victims as Daniel Castillo, 46, who died on the bus, and Gage Weida, 31, who died on the street nearby, having apparently been thrown from the bus during the collision.
The SUV driver was among those injured in the collision and taken to a hospital, according to Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo. Metro previously indicated the driver had died at the hospital, but that report turned out to be unfounded.
Material from City News Service and the Associated Press was used in this report.
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