NTSB Factual Report

According to the pilot, he was flying at 1,000 feet when he noticed a large bird located to the right of his flight path. As the bird started to circle towards the helicopter, the pilot tried to avoid it by making a sharp left turn. When the helicopter was in a steep left bank, the pilot felt a "thump in the aircraft and cyclic control," and the cyclic became "sluggish and spongy." The pilot completed a controlled descent and landed the helicopter in the median of a highway. An examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the main rotor blades required replacement. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the helicopter prior to the in-flight collision.

NTSB Probable Cause

An inadvertent in-flight collision with a bird.