Incident Overview
According to the captain of one of the affected aircraft, the airplane had just departed and was making a turn to a heading of 270 degrees when the first officer's windshield began cracking and arcing. The captain alerted Air Traffic Control that they were returning to the airport and noticed his own windshield was also cracking, though without arcing. The first officer's windscreen stopped arcing, and the flight crew landed the airplane without further incident.
Multiple Aircraft Affected
During the course of the afternoon, a total of 14 airplanes experienced 26 fractured windshields. One flight crew reported that during the landing roll they heard a loud thump and observed the first officer's window exhibiting a spiderweb pattern. They did not observe anything impacting the windscreen. Another flight crew reported taxiing through dirt and dust being blown around.
Examination Findings
Examination of the windshields revealed that the impact markings on all 26 windshields were the result of impact with foreign object debris (FOD). No pre-impact anomalies were noted with any of the windshields.
Weather Conditions
Winds at the time of the event were reported from 280 degrees to 030 degrees, with sustained winds between 28 and 36 knots. Wind gusts as high as 44 knots were recorded.