FTW95FA004

As the level 6 thunderstorm passed over the airport from northwest to southeast, the captain elected not to take off because of the falling hail. After waiting about 30 minutes, the flight took off on runway 35L. The captain requested a right turn, and was assigned a heading of 080 degrees and cleared to climb to 20,000 feet. The airplane entered the overcast and encountered 'light hail.' As it turned onto its assigned heading, the airborne weather radar indicated heavy precipitation ahead. A request was made for a turn further right. Suddenly, the right windshield shattered, sending glass particles into the first officer's eyes. The airplane immediately descended to visual meteorological conditions, returned to the airport, and landed.

History of flight

On October 1, 1994, approximately 1805 mountain daylight time, a Beech 1900D, N31YV, was substantially damaged during an inflight encounter with adverse weather near Denver, Colorado. There were no injuries to the captain and 16 passengers, but the first officer sustained minor injuries. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed.

The following is based on interviews with the captain and first officer, and the pilot/operator report. The airplane, flight 7658, operated by Mesa Airlines, Inc., d/b/a United Express, taxied to runway 35L at 1720, but was placed in the "penalty box" due to weather causing a traffic backlog. It began to rain heavily and several wind shear alerts were issued. When the flight was cleared to taxi onto the runway, the captain declined and decided to wait for better weather conditions. Hail began to fall and the right engine was shut down to conserve fuel. A Boeing 727, later identified as United Air Lines flight 898, took off at 1748 and turned to the left. Shortly thereafter, at 1750, the United pilot advised the control tower that traffic should avoid a westerly departure. The captain said the pilot sounded "thoroughly shaken." When weather conditions improved and the crew noted no precipitation echoes on the weather radar through various tilt angles, flight 7658 took off at 1759.

Because of the previous pilot report, the captain requested a right turn after departure. The flight was assigned a heading of 080 degrees and an altitude of 20,000 feet. The airplane entered the overcast and it began to rain, followed by "light hail." As the airplane was approaching 10,000 feet, the airborne weather radar indicated heavy precipitation ahead, and the crew requested a turn further to the right. The airplane then encountered heavy hail and the right windshield "exploded," sending glass particles into the first officer's eyes and temporarily blinding him. After telling air traffic control what had happened, the flight was cleared to land on any runway. The captain descended into visual meteorological conditions and landed on runway 26R.

Meteorological information

The captain said that he personally obtained a weather briefing via computer prior to departure. The reports indicated that visual meteorological conditions prevailed in Denver, Amarillo, and along the route. He said the weather reports were not "real time," but were probably at least one hour or more old. Asked why his dispatcher did not provide him with more timely weather information, the captain replied that his company operated under Federal Aviation Regulations Part 135 and did not have a dispatch office. Obtaining weather reports and filing flight plans was done by the flight crew.

Weather and air traffic control studies were made by the Safety Board's Operational Factors Division. These reports are attached as exhibits.

Flight recorders

Both cockpit voice and flight data recorders were removed from the airplane and were examined by the Safety Board's Engineering and Computer Services Division. No extraordinary data was retrieved from the flight data recorder. The ATC communications channel on the cockpit voice recorder was found to have been wired incorrectly when it was installed by the airplane manufacturer. No cockpit communications transcript was made.