ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 370523
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Tuesday 26 December 2000 |
| Time: | 19:29 LT |
| Type: |  Bombardier CRJ-100ER |
| Owner/operator: | Comair |
| Registration: | N729CA |
| MSN: | 7265 |
| Engine model: | GE CF-34 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 53 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Hebron, KY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Hebron, KY (KCVG) |
| Greer, SC (KGSP) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
While climbing through 20,000 feet in visual meteorological conditions, the captain's windshield "shattered." The captain did not declare an emergency; the flight returned to the departure airport and landed uneventfully. The damaged windshield (PPG part number NP 139321-5, S/N 99018H7134) was removed from the airplane and initial examination revealed that the center ply was failed. The window was further examined in the presence of representatives of the NTSB, FAA, Bombardier, and PPG, at one PPG's facilities. A report of the damaged windshield prepared by PPG indicates, "The fracture originated 0.20 inch from the bottom edge and 3.8 inches from the center of the forward corner. The origin of the fracture was a peel chip that developed on the outboard surface in the bottom forward corner area. The initiation point of the peel chip damage was located 0.115 inch from the inner edge of the Teflon tape and 0.325 inch from the glass edge." The report also indicates that examination of the peel chip using a microscope, "...did not reveal any surface damage at the peel chip initiation point, nor was there any indication of manufacturing defects." No discrepancies were noted with the anti-ice heating system and sensing elements. Optical distortion check of the damaged window was performed which revealed, "There was no slope-line distortion apparent in the critical vision area. However, facilities were not available to perform a quantitative distortion evaluation." Residual visibility examination could not be performed due to the absence of a standard and prescribed method of evaluation. Manufacturing of windshield S/N 99018H7134 was completed on January 18, 1999; the window was installed in the incident airplane by Comair maintenance personnel on March 27, 1999, to replace the previous window which "shattered while sitting at gate power off." The incident window had accumulated a reported 4,422.8 hours and 4,526 cycles at the time of failure.
Probable Cause: The inadequate design of the flight compartment windshield by the windshield manufacturer resulting in cracking of the center ply.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB MIA01IA051
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2024 11:38 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation