NBC reporter Eliana Moreno, who was killed Tuesday when the community’s helicopter crashed and burst into flames within the Los Angeles space, had been engaged for the previous 12 months, it has emerged.
The veteran aerial reporter, 38, proudly introduced her engagement to Robert Barrientos by means of a social media submit on Oct. 28, 2025, as family members celebrated the couple.
Moreno, who labored for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52, and the pilot, George Marciniw, have been killed when their News4chopper crashed whereas overlaying a lethal Metro bus collision in Chatsworth on Tuesday — a pedestrian on the bottom additionally died.
The deaths have been confirmed by Telemundo, sparking a flurry of tributes.
“Tonight, we’re in mourning. We’re heartbroken. We’ve got misplaced two nice colleagues,” Telemundo mentioned in an announcement on-line.
“Eliana Moreno was a beautiful human being. Her professionalism was spectacular. Everybody who labored along with her knew she was—undoubtedly—the most effective airborne reporter in all of Los Angeles.”
The community hailed how Moreno was “on high of the whole lot” and described her as a “supply of consolation.”
Moreno, who aspired to be a tv information reporter for the reason that age of 11, had labored for Angel Metropolis Air Inc — the corporate working the News4chopper — since September 2010.
Moreno, who glided by “Eli within the Heli” on Instagram, graduated from Chapman College in 2010 with levels in broadcast journalism and political science.
She later labored for KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 earlier than becoming a member of NBC and flying aboard NewsChopper4 round 2018 or 2019 – predominantly overlaying police pursuits, brush fires, and visitors occasions from the air.
The Tustin native’s aerial protection of a lethal crash in Windsor Hills noticed her scoop a Radio Tv Digital Information Affiliation award in 2022.
She shared a heartwarming image of herself displaying off her award alongside her pal, Robert Rodriguez, who was the pilot of the helicopter she introduced from.
Moreno gushed on-line that being an aerial journalist was “the most effective job on the planet.”
Most of her social media content material was peppered with work-related footage, however in Could, she revealed she accomplished the Orange County half marathon in Could in underneath two hours alongside Barrientos.
She achieved the feat after setting a New Yr’s decision to run only one mile by the top of 2026 – regardless of affected by “unhealthy bronchial asthma.”
“The primary week of January, I made a decision to start out making an attempt to run my one mile. I did it on my first attempt, and despite the fact that I felt like I used to be going to die, I felt like I may do extra,” she mentioned.
She continued to coach and managed to finish the half marathon.
“I surpassed the whole lot I believed I may ever achieve this let’s see what I do subsequent,” she mentioned.
Simply two months after Moreno introduced her engagement, Marciniw posted a photograph alongside Moreno in entrance of their work helicopter “wishing everybody a Merry Christmas and Glad Holidays as we look ahead to the beginning of a New Yr.”
Moreno was reporting on a crash that had killed two folks and injured six when the helicopter bumped into problem and smashed right into a car parking zone between two warehouses, which sparked an enormous blaze.
Harrowing live-stream video has surfaced on-line that confirmed the copter struggling, with whirring noises coming from the engine.
A girl, now believed to be Moreno, was heard telling the pilot to “pull” earlier than she added, “What? You’ll be able to’t pull up?”
Then the dwell stream footage appeared to shake seconds earlier than the helicopter crashed.
It’s not identified what precipitated the helicopter to crash, however veteran pilot Zoey Tur speculated there could have been an engine failure.
“In the event you hear, you might hear the low rotor RPM annunciator horn going off. You possibly can additionally hear the engine rev down. This was an engine failure, and sluggish response into getting into an auto -rotation by PiC. No survivors,” Tur posted after the crash.
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board is main the investigation into the crash.
