What happened
On July 13, 2009, at 0815 UTC, a Gulfstream Aerospace G IV SP, registration VT-MST, departed from Kerry Airport (EIKY) in Farranfore, Ireland. While operating in instrument meteorological conditions, the aircraft descended below the minimum safe altitude and flew in close proximity to mountainous terrain. There were no injuries to the two crew members or the single passenger on board.
The investigation
As part of the investigation, the pilot's forward windscreen was examined due to a failure of the outboard glass ply. This analysis was performed at PPG Aerospace under the supervision of the National Transportation Safety Board. Additionally, investigators swabbed sections of the outboard glass ply for potential bird DNA. Testing conducted by the Smithsonian Institution's Feather Identification Lab confirmed that no bird DNA was present on the windscreen.