What happened
During an air tour sightseeing flight, a helicopter was cruising at 500 feet above terrain with a speed between 100 and 120 knots. The pilot observed one large bird positioned to the left and below the aircraft. Shortly thereafter, a second large bird, identified tentatively as a Golden eagle with an 8-foot wingspan, appeared directly in the flight path.
While the first bird passed to the left of the aircraft, the second bird struck the front windscreen area. The impact caused the center front and left windscreens to shatter. Debris from the impact struck the pilot and two passengers, resulting in 3 injuries. Following the strike, the pilot initiated a shallow bank turn toward a nearby airport and began a descent for landing.
An onboard video camera captured the approach of the birds during the incident.