CAPT'S WINDSHIELD SHATTERED DURING CRUISE RESULTING IN THE FLC DECLARING AN EMER AND DIVERTING TO LAND AT THE NEAREST ARPT.

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FLT WAS ENRTE FROM IAH TO GPT. WE HAD LEVELED AT 17000 FT; WHICH WAS OUR FINAL ALT THAT DAY. WE HAD BEEN IN THE AIR FOR ABOUT 1 HR 15 MINS AND WERE JUST W OF NEW ORLEANS. I (CAPT) NOTICED A LINE OF WATER BUBBLES ON THE BOTTOM L-HAND SIDE OF CAPT WINDSHIELD. IT LOOKED LIKE THE WATER BUBBLES WERE EXPANDING. I MADE A PEN MARK ON THE WINDSHIELD AND STARTED MY CLOCK TO SEE HOW FAST THE LINE WAS EXPANDING. AT THE SAME TIME; WE FLEW INTO AN OVCST AND STARTED TO PICK UP TRACES OF RIME ICE. I TOLD THE FO TO ASK FOR LOWER ALT SO WE WOULDN'T PICK UP ICE DUE TO OUR L PROP DE-ICE BEING MEL. ZHU GAVE US 13000. AS WE STARTED DOWN I LOOKED OVER AT THE BUBBLES IN THE WINDSHIELD. IT HAD EXPANDED PAST MY PEN MARK. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE WINDSHIELD JUST SHATTERED. PARTS OF IT TURNED YELLOW AND BLACK. I STARTED AN EMER DSCNT RIGHT AWAY. BOTH I AND THE FO PUT OUR OXYGEN MASK AND SMOKE GOGGLES ON. WE TOLD CTR WHAT WE WERE DOING. WE DID ALL THE REQUIRED EMER CHKLISTS. BEING 75 DME FROM GPT AND RIGHT OVER NEW ORLEANS; AND NOT KNOWING THE FULL DAMAGE TO THE WINDSHIELD; WE LANDED IN NEW ORLEANS.