.Air carrier Captain reported First Officer's window pane shattered during cruise. The flight diverted to an appropriate airport and landed safely.

Date: 2025-05 · Aircraft: B787-900 · Phase: cruise

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-weight-and-balance|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy

Synopsis

.Air carrier Captain reported First Officer's window pane shattered during cruise. The flight diverted to an appropriate airport and landed safely.

Narrative

While at Cruise approximately 2 hours into the flight; the First Officer's window pane shattered. [Priority handling was requested] and after discussing with Dispatch; I elected to divert to ZZZ. An overweight land was made and the landing was uneventful. ZZZ emergency vehicles were on hand to assist and they were able to monitor the aircraft brake temperatures. Once it was determined that the brakes were not 'hot'; I taxied to the gate where the passengers and crew deplaned.Cause: I cannot think of any way that the incident could have been avoided. Aircraft sometimes break. The important thing is to work the problem and bring everyone into the loop. The tricky part is that there can be too much information too fast ( ATC; Dispatch; Flight Attendants and the other pilot) offering suggestions and comments. All are critical in making a decision but it's important to slow down and don't rush if the incident allows for that. In this case it did. I really like how my airline has incorporated into the training curriculum that both pilots will acknowledge who's flying the aircraft. This allows for a clear separation of duties and the pilots know that one pilot is flying the airplane and that's their sole responsibility while the other pilot works the problem.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.