Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board gave their first briefing Wednesday following the fatal Tuesday evening crash of a news helicopter in Southern California.
The NTSB and FAA had begun an investigation of the crash on Wednesday and were interviewing witnesses, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Fabian Salazar said. He added that the agency would not be seeking a probable cause in the accident during the first days of the investigation.
A full preliminary report from the NTSB would be released in about 30 days.
Video broadcast from the helicopter included the sound of an alarm from the cockpit and showed that the aircraft quickly lost altitude. Salazar said the video also appeared to include sound from the helicopter's engine, which he said would be analyzed.
“That video is probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far,” Salazar said.
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The crash killed three people: NBC4 Los Angeles reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw, and Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground when the helicopter crashed.
The helicopter crashed near Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley. It had been deployed to cover news of a bus collision that occurred earlier on Tuesday. At least two people were killed and six others injured in that accident.
