CEN21LA132

About an hour after departure, while the airplane was in cruise flight, the pilot and passenger heard a “cracking noise” and noticed that the right windshield had cracked. The windshield remained in place and pressurization was not lost. The pilot notified the air traffic controller that he had a cracked windshield and diverted to a nearby airport. The airplane landed uneventfully and examination revealed substantial cracking damage to the right-side windshield inner pane. The windshield was disposed of before further testing could be performed to determine the failure mode.

On February 17, 2021, about 2130 central standard time, a Beech B100 airplane, N312MB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lubbock, Texas. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 business flight. The pilot reported that about an hour after departure, while the airplane was in cruise flight, he heard a “cracking noise” and noticed that the right windshield had cracked. The windshield remained in place and pressurization was not lost. The pilot notified the air traffic controller that he had a cracked windshield. The flight then descended and diverted to a nearby airport, where it was discovered that the right-side windshield displayed cracks in the inner pane, which is considered substantial damage in a pressurized airplane. The pilot reported that the windshield had accumulated 3,152.3 flight hours and 2,235 cycles. The window manufacturer reported the windshield was manufactured in 1998 and that it had met its expected life cycle. The windshield was disposed of before further testing could be performed to determine the failure mode.