(CNN) A Los Angeles news helicopter made an emergency landing when an object struck its tail, and crew on board believe it was a drone.

KABC's Air7 HD chopper was flying just east of downtown at about 1,100 feet when crew heard a pop, then a loud bang, reporter Chris Cristi told the CNN affiliate

"We felt it, we heard it and we all looked at each other; didn't really know what it was," he said of Wednesday night's incident.

He thought a bird might have flown into the chopper -- but when the crew safely landed and assessed the damage, "it was a different story," he said.

The object had ripped through the tail of the helicopter and left other dents and scratches in other spots of the aircraft.