Eliana Moreno spent years looking down on Los Angeles from the sky.
To viewers of NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52, she was the familiar voice aboard NewsChopper4 — the journalist following police pursuits, wildfires, collisions and breaking stories as they unfolded thousands of feet below.
Away from the helicopter, however, the 38-year-old was building a very different life. She was recently engaged. She adored animals, proudly calling herself a dog and chicken mom. She had completed a half-marathon with her fiancé. And according to her family, she had dreamed of becoming a reporter since she was just 11 years old. (NBC Los Angeles)
On September 15, 2026, that life ended with devastating suddenness.
Moreno and longtime pilot George Marciniw were covering a fatal Metro bus and SUV collision in Chatsworth when NewsChopper4 went down shortly before 7 p.m. The crash killed both people aboard and 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia on the ground. Two other people were hospitalized. (NBC Los Angeles)
And in the days since, the details emerging about Moreno have revealed how much more there was to the woman viewers knew as “Eli in the Heli.”
1. She Had Wanted to Become a Reporter Since She Was 11
For Moreno, journalism wasn’t a career she stumbled into.
It was the dream.
Her family revealed after her death that she had wanted to become a news reporter from the age of 11. Through school, college and eventually the unusual specialty of aerial journalism, she turned that childhood ambition into her everyday life. (NBC Los Angeles)
Moreno grew up in Orange County and attended Chapman University, graduating in 2010 after studying broadcast journalism and social science. (nbcwashington.com)
Chapman remembered its former student after the crash, saying the university was grateful she had been able to pursue her passion for journalism and storytelling.
Her former professor Pete Weitzner recalled that Moreno specifically wanted to work in television news in her hometown market.
She eventually did exactly that.
2. Her Job in the Helicopter Was Far More Complicated Than It Looked
Moreno wasn’t simply sitting in a helicopter and describing what she saw.
Aerial reporting demanded that she perform several jobs simultaneously.
She gathered images, tracked rapidly changing information, communicated with the newsroom and reported events unfolding below her. Her former professor remembered her as someone who embraced that workload rather than shying away from it. (CBS News)
That versatility became one of her professional trademarks.
From above Los Angeles, she covered police pursuits, wildfires, shootings, collisions and other emergencies.
She could also report for both NBC4 and Spanish-language Telemundo 52, reaching two audiences from the same helicopter. NBC describes her as a seasoned aerial journalist who reported in Spanish as well as English. (nbcwashington.com)
The viral graphic says she spoke three languages, but the reliable reporting available so far clearly documents her professional reporting in English and Spanish; I couldn’t independently verify a third language.
3. Everyone Knew Her as ‘Eli in the Heli’
It was almost too perfect a nickname.
Moreno called herself “Eli in the Heli” on Instagram, and the name became closely associated with her work. (NBC Los Angeles)
Her social-media account blended the two sides of her life.
One moment she might be high above Southern California covering breaking news.
The next, followers might see her animals or a glimpse of life away from work.
She clearly loved the unusual career she’d built.
In one post recalled by NBC News after her death, Moreno wrote simply:
“I have the best job in the world.” (NBC Miami)
That sentence became especially poignant after September 15.
4. She Was Newly Engaged
Moreno was also preparing for one of the happiest changes in her personal life.
She was engaged to Robert Barrientos.
In October 2025, she shared footage from a trip to Nashville where Barrientos proposed. Remembering the moment online, she wrote that she would remember the Tennessee trip for the rest of her life. (AOL.com)
Her colleague Lynette Romero later described Moreno as excited about being engaged and emphasized how important family was to her. (People.com)
Moreno’s family statement following her death specifically included her fiancé among the loved ones she left behind.
It also mentioned her stepsons.
She was preparing not merely for a wedding, but for the next chapter of a family life that never got the chance to unfold as planned. (NBC Los Angeles)
5. She and Her Fiancé Had Just Completed a Half-Marathon
Only months before the crash, Moreno and Barrientos accomplished something together that she was particularly proud of.
They completed a half-marathon in May.
Afterward, Moreno reflected on exceeding what she believed she was capable of, writing:
“I surpassed everything I thought I could ever do.” (NBC Miami)
Then she added that she wanted to see what she could do next.
It is difficult to read those words now without feeling their weight.
At the time, however, they weren’t intended as a farewell.
They were celebratory.
Moreno was looking ahead.
6. She Was Proudly a ‘Dog and Chicken Mom’
The helicopter wasn’t Moreno’s entire world.
Animals occupied a large part of it too.
NBC4 reported that she proudly described herself as a dog and chicken mom, and her social-media pages included photographs of both. (NBC Los Angeles)
Romero remembered that side of her immediately after the tragedy.
“She loved animals, she loved her dogs, she had chickens,” the anchor recalled while describing her colleague as a bright, energetic presence with an enormous heart. (AOL.com)
It is a wonderfully ordinary detail in an otherwise extraordinary story.
The woman viewers associated with helicopters, wildfires and high-speed pursuits could go home to dogs and chickens.
7. Her Family Was Bigger Than Viewers Knew
Moreno came from a large family.
She had five siblings, according to NBC Los Angeles, and two of her brothers serve as deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. (NBC Los Angeles)
Her knowledge of law enforcement reportedly became useful professionally, particularly while covering police pursuits and breaking stories from the helicopter.
But after her death, it was her brother Johan Moreno who gave the public one of the clearest glimpses of the family’s grief.
He described September 15 as the “worst day of our lives.”
He also wrote that he would love his sister “to the end of time.” (NBC Los Angeles)
8. Her Colleagues Remembered a Huge Personality in a Tiny Package
Lynette Romero’s description of Moreno was especially vivid.
She remembered a woman who brought enormous energy wherever she went — someone physically petite but emotionally larger than life.
“She was such a light, such a spark plug,” Romero said, adding that Moreno had the “biggest heart and enthusiasm.” (AOL.com)
NBC4 reporter Jonathan Gonzalez remembered something else: reliability.
For colleagues on the ground, having Moreno overhead meant having someone they trusted.
“When you have Eliana in the chopper, you know you’re in good hands,” he recalled. (INJA NEWS)
That reputation had been built over years.
9. She Had Been Doing Aerial Journalism Since 2010
Moreno’s career in helicopter news stretched back more than 15 years.
After graduating from Chapman in 2010, she joined Angel City Air’s helicopter team and went on to report for multiple Southern California news organizations. (NBC Los Angeles)
That longevity matters because aerial journalism is an unusually specialized form of reporting.
Moreno wasn’t simply a television personality assigned to a helicopter for an occasional segment.
This was her craft.
She understood what could be seen from the air that couldn’t easily be understood from the ground.
And only weeks before her death, she publicly explained why that perspective mattered so much.
10. Weeks Before the Crash, She Talked About the ‘Power’ of Being in the Sky
On July 31, Moreno appeared in a video discussing aerial journalism.
She explained how useful helicopters could be during brushfires because reporters above the scene could show viewers where a fire began, how quickly it was moving and which neighborhoods might be threatened.
She called it the power of being the “eye in the sky.”
Her words weren’t dramatic at the time.
They were the observations of an experienced journalist explaining why she loved her specialty.
After the crash, the video resurfaced.
Suddenly, the woman explaining the value of reporting emergencies from a helicopter had herself died while doing precisely that job.
11. She and George Marciniw Had Become a Team
Moreno wasn’t alone in the sky.
Pilot George Marciniw had flown regularly with her since 2023. (nbcwashington.com)
Marciniw was a veteran Southern California pilot and flight instructor with decades of aviation experience.
Their work required an enormous degree of coordination.
While Moreno concentrated on the story unfolding below, Marciniw had to position and operate the aircraft safely amid the complicated conditions that accompany breaking-news scenes.
Together they became familiar figures within Southern California’s small aerial-news community.
Colleagues remembered them not simply as two people assigned to the same aircraft but as a team.
12. Their Final Assignment Began With Another Tragedy
On September 15, Moreno and Marciniw were dispatched to Chatsworth.
A Metro bus and SUV had collided at Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue, killing two people and injuring others.
NewsChopper4 was hovering over the scene to provide aerial coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 when the helicopter suddenly descended.
The aircraft crashed in the 9100 block of Mason Avenue shortly before 7 p.m., between commercial buildings. (NBC San Diego)
Fire erupted after impact.
Moreno and Marciniw were killed.
So was someone who hadn’t been aboard the helicopter at all.
13. A 29-Year-Old Man on the Ground Also Lost His Life
That third victim was Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29.
He was on the ground when the helicopter came down.
His death is an important part of the story, particularly as attention has understandably focused on the two well-known members of the news crew.
The helicopter crash therefore claimed three lives: Moreno, Marciniw and Mejia. (nbcwashington.com)
And combined with the fatalities from the collision Moreno and Marciniw had originally been sent to cover, September 15 became an extraordinarily painful day in Chatsworth.
14. Viewers Learned What Happened From Moreno’s Own Colleagues
For the NBC4 newsroom, this wasn’t an ordinary breaking-news story.
They had lost contact with their own helicopter.
Then came the confirmation no newsroom wants to receive.
Anchors Colleen Williams and Carolyn Johnson had to tell viewers on live television that their colleagues had died. (EW.com)
Williams struggled visibly with the announcement.
The people delivering the news weren’t detached broadcasters describing strangers.
They were mourning friends while simultaneously doing their jobs.
That made the coverage painfully personal.
15. Investigators Are Still Determining Why the Helicopter Went Down
The cause of the crash has not yet been finally established.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. Investigators have emphasized the importance of video captured from the aircraft itself. (CBS News)
Newly surfaced footage is being examined as investigators consider what happened during the aircraft’s final moments. The NTSB investigation remains ongoing, so early theories — including possible mechanical or engine problems — should not be treated as a final determination. (People.com)
A preliminary report is expected before the much more comprehensive final investigation is completed.
16. Her Family Found Comfort in One Painful Detail
Two days after Moreno’s death, her family released a statement.
They spoke about the little girl who had dreamed of becoming a reporter at 11 and the woman who eventually achieved it.
And amid unimaginable grief, they identified something that gave them comfort.
Moreno had spent her final hours doing what she loved.
“Through hard work and courage, she turned that dream into a reality,” her family said. (NBC Los Angeles)
They thanked viewers who had welcomed her into their homes and onto their television screens.
Then they described themselves as “infinitely proud of her.”
17. Her Family Also Had One Important Request
As public sympathy grew, something uglier appeared alongside it.
Online fundraisers began circulating that purported to collect money following Moreno’s death.
Her brother warned the public that the family had not authorized such fundraising campaigns.
He thanked people for their extraordinary support but made clear that the family and Moreno’s fiancé were not collecting donations. (NBC Los Angeles)
Instead, the family’s public request was much simpler.
They asked people to keep Moreno, Marciniw, Mejia and the victims of the original bus collision in their thoughts and prayers. (NBC Los Angeles)
More Than ‘Eli in the Heli’
Television viewers knew Eliana Moreno from above.
They heard her voice as a pursuit unfolded.
They watched the pictures she captured when smoke rose over Southern California.
They depended on her when breaking news was moving too quickly for cameras on the ground to tell the whole story.
But those closest to her knew someone else too.
A daughter and sister from a large family.
A fiancée planning a future with Robert Barrientos.
A stepmother.
A woman who challenged herself to finish a half-marathon.
Someone who loved her dogs and kept chickens.
A journalist who had known what she wanted to do since she was 11.
And, perhaps most poignantly, someone who could still say after years of exhausting breaking-news shifts that she had “the best job in the world.” (NBC Miami)
Eliana Moreno spent her career showing Los Angeles what was happening from above.
In the days after her death, the people who loved her have given viewers something different: a glimpse of the life that existed when the helicopter landed.
For more stories about the lives of public figures, take a look at Kevin Costner’s Rumored New Romance Draws Comparisons to His Ex-Wife – but His Love Life Just Got Even More Complicated and Tom Cruise Bares His Body at 64 in Striking New Photoshoot – and Fans Say the Hollywood Star ‘Still Got It’.
