The helicopter model involved in the tragic NBC LA chopper crash in Los Angeles has a concerning accident history — including a significant connection to the fatal crash that killed musician Oliver Tree.

NBC LA’s Chopper 4 was a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 Ecureuil, a single-engine aircraft that has been involved in at least six fatal accidents this year alone.

The crash claimed the lives of reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and ground pedestrian Edy Gutierrez Mejia. NBC’s crew was covering a major crash involving an SUV and a Metro bus.

The Eurocopter AS 350 B2 Ecureuil is part of the Aérospatiale AS 350 Écureuil helicopter family that first entered production in the 1970s. The B2 variant entered production in 1990.

A Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil, within the same helicopter family as the NBC chopper, collided in mid-air with a Bell 206B JetRanger III carrying Californian singer Oliver Tree and his entourage in Brazil in June this year. The crash killed six people, including the pilot of the Eurocopter.

The Tree crash happened after he boarded a helicopter in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the Southwest zone of Rio de Janeiro, CNN reported.

The chopper Tree was on then slammed into the other one over an electric car lot, setting at least 20 cars ablaze in the deadly collision.

Other victims included passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim (also known as Argentinian YouTuber Gaspi), Lucas Brito Chaves, and pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.

Four other fatal incidents involving the Aérospatiale AS 350 Écureuil helicopter family include a Germany crash in August, an May crash in China, a May crash on a hunting trip in New Zealand that killed two, and a February Kenya crash that killed six people, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

Nearly 400 flight incidents involving the Aérospatiale AS 350 Écureuil helicopter family have occurred in the US since January 1980, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

The helicopter the news crew was in — with registration N358TV — was manufactured in 2004, according to FAA records. Records show the aircraft’s registration was valid until December 2028.

Maintenance records filed with the FAA show the helicopter last had a major repair and alteration in Aug. 2023, related to its airframe. Work included a door modification, a new equipment list and a weight and balance revision.

Veteran helicopter pilot and former news reporter Zoey Tur said video from the crash appeared to capture signs of an engine failure shortly before the helicopter went down.

“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 wrote, noting in an accompanying post that she owned two similar helicopters.

The helicopter circled the area for about an hour before its fateful uncontrolled descent, according to flight data.

Moreno is heard planning out the shot for the bus in her final moments. “Can we plan our spot, George?” Moreno says at the beginning of the video.

“Uh oh,” Moreno then says as an alarm is heard.

“Can you… you can’t pull up?” Moreno says as the chopper shudders, causing the camera to shake. The video cuts out as the chopper rapidly descends.

The FAA told the California Post that it is investigating alongside the NTSB. The NTSB will lead the inquiry, they said.

A preliminary FAA accident report said three people died in the crash “UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES” and described a post-crash fire.

The California Post reached out to Airbus Helicopters for comment.

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