NTSB: TV News Helicopter Descended Rapidly Before Fatal Crash

National Transportation Safety Board releases its preliminary report for the investigation into the September 15 accident in California.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, October 07, 2026 at 04:30 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Investigators examine the wreckage of the KNBC-TV news helicopter, whose fuselage the NTSB said was ‘mostly reduced to ash and thermally damaged metal.’ [Credit: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB preliminary report indicates the Airbus AS-350 B2 news helicopter that crashed in Chatsworth, CA, killing three and injuring one, was rapidly descending before striking a metal storage container.
The helicopter was conducting an electronic news gathering flight for KNBC-TV when it crashed on September 15, 2023, fatally killing the pilot, an onboard reporter, and one person on the ground.
Onboard recordings captured sounds consistent with normal operations for most of the flight, but picked up "intermittent and continuous horns" related to rotor RPM advisories in the final 29 seconds.
The NTSB's investigation into the accident is ongoing, and a probable cause has not yet been determined.

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The Airbus AS-350 B2 helicopter that fatally crashed in a neighborhood of Los Angeles in September was descending rapidly before striking a metal storage container, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation preliminary report.

The accident occurred September 15 around 6:55 p.m. PDT in Chatsworth, California, as the helicopter—registered N358TV and operated by Angel City Air on behalf of KNBC-TV, known locally as NBC4—was conducting an electronic news gathering flight under Part 91. The crash killed the pilot, an onboard news reporter, and one person on the ground, causing minor injury to a second person on the ground.