NBC reporter Eliana Moreno tragically lost her life on Tuesday when the network’s helicopter crashed and ignited in flames near Los Angeles. It’s been shared that she had been engaged to Robert Barrientos for the past year.
The 38-year-old aerial journalist announced her engagement to Barrientos in a heartfelt social media post back on October 28, 2025, while friends and family celebrated the couple’s love.
Moreno, who reported for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52, died alongside pilot George Marciniw while their News4chopper was covering a fatal Metro bus accident in Chatsworth. Sadly, a pedestrian also lost their life in that incident.
Telemundo confirmed the tragic losses, which prompted an outpouring of condolences from colleagues.
“Tonight, we are in mourning. We are heartbroken. We have lost two great colleagues,” Telemundo shared in an online statement.
They praised Moreno, saying, “She was a wonderful human being. Her professionalism was impressive. Everyone who worked with her knew she was—the best airborne reporter in all of Los Angeles.”
The network highlighted how Moreno was always “on top of everything,” describing her as a comforting presence to those around her.
From a young age—she had aspired to be a television news reporter since age 11. Moreno started with Angel City Air Inc, the operator of the News4chopper, in September 2010.
She had a strong academic background, graduating from Chapman University in 2010 with degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. Over the years, she worked for KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 before ultimately joining NBC, around 2018 or 2019, where she primarily covered police chases, wildfires, and traffic incidents from above.
Moreno received recognition for her aerial report of a tragic crash in Windsor Hills, earning a Radio Television Digital News Association award in 2022.
She was known to express her joy for being an aerial journalist, calling it “the best job in the world.”
While much of her social media was filled with work highlights, she also shared personal milestones, such as completing the Orange County half marathon in May with Barrientos, achieving this after setting a New Year’s goal to run just one mile by the end of 2026—despite dealing with “bad asthma.”
She reflected on her running journey, saying that her initial attempt at running a mile felt like a struggle, but it sparked her to push further. “The first week of January, I decided to start trying to run my one mile. I did it on my first try, and even though I felt like I was going to die, I felt like I could do more,” she recounted.
She continued to train and succeeded in completing the half marathon, proudly stating, “I surpassed everything I thought I could ever do, so let’s see what I do next.”
Just two months after her engagement announcement, Marciniw shared a festive photo of the two in front of their work helicopter, extending Christmas greetings.
On the day of the accident, Moreno was reporting on a crash that resulted in two fatalities and six injuries when the helicopter encountered issues and crashed into a parking lot between warehouses, igniting a significant fire.
Live-stream video captured the helicopter struggling in the air, with alarming sounds emitting from the engine.
A voice, believed to be Moreno’s, was recorded urging the pilot to “pull” and then questioned, “What? You can’t pull up?”
Moments later, the footage shook right before the crash occurred.
While the cause of the crash remains unclear, veteran pilot Zoey Tur suggested it could be linked to engine failure.
“If you listen, you could hear the low rotor RPM annunciator horn going off. You could also hear the engine rev down. This was an engine failure, and slow response into entering an auto-rotation by PiC. No survivors,” Tur shared following the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the circumstances leading to the crash.
