“Did We Hit One?“ - Birds Fly Through Our R44 Helicopter’s Flight Path on Approach

Birds pose a danger to all aircraft, especially ones which spent a lot of time flying near to the ground like helicopters. During a recent refresher flight, whilst flying a simulated hydraulic failure, a flock of birds flew through our helicopter’s flight path just as it was making its turn onto final approach and heading directly towards the low sun. This only gave a few moments to spot the birds and take avoiding action. Luckily, no birds, pilots nor helicopters were injured in the making of this video! Once the helicopter was stabilised, for safety the simulated emergency was discontinued and a normal approach made. Captured on the Robinson Helicopter cockpit video camera.