What happened
During a night visual approach on a downwind leg, the aircraft impacted a flock of Lesser Scaup diving ducks. The impact caused multiple bird strikes to the nose structure and the windshield directly in front of the captain. While the birds did not penetrate the windshield, the force of the impact caused hundreds of small pieces of glass to be ejected from the innermost of the three windshield panes.
As a result of the glass fragmentation, the captain sustained injuries to the face, forehead, and scalp from approximately 70 embedded glass pieces. The injuries were recorded as 70 fragments embedded in the captain's skin. Despite the damage, the first officer was able to complete a successful landing using backup flight instruments. All occupants were not injured by any other mechanical failure.
The investigation
The investigation examined the effects of the impact on the windshield structure. It was determined that while there was no direct penetration of the windshield through the birds, the internal delamination or fragmentation of the inner pane occurred due to the strikes.