It would be a terrible decision to make within a fraction of a second if you had to decide whether to impact a road/trees or take the risk of stalling while trying to 'lift' over.
I've done this a few times while flying a hang glider (never yet in a helicopter, thankfully). Adrenaline is pumping and the decision is automatic. You can feel how much energy you've got and you know if you're going to clear the obstacle.
One time I didn't have that energy and flew into a tree - I instinctively 'let go' and was completely uninjured. Wrote off a hang glider, though.
Of course, this crash is a life-or-death situation and my little accidents weren't - I'm only writing about the decision-making process.