MD80 BIRD STRIKE IN AREA OF R SIDE COCKPIT WINDOW ON ILS RWY 22L APCH TO EWR. FLT CREW DECLARES AN EMER AND MAKES AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG.

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ON NOV/SAT/03 AT APPROX XA15 HRS; FLT ZZZ TO EWR ENCOUNTERED A BIRD STRIKE AT 2500 FT; 2 MI W OF THE TEB VOR. THE FLT WAS JUST GIVEN THE TURN TO FINAL APCH COURSE AND CLRNC FOR THE ILS RWY 22L AT EWR WHEN A LOUD EXPLOSION WAS HEARD. AN EMER WAS DECLARED AND A REQUEST WAS MADE FOR THE CFR EQUIP. WITH THE LNDG CHKLIST COMPLETE; A NORMAL VISUAL APCH WAS COMPLETED AND THE ACFT LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. AFTER VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE ACFT BY THE CFR CREW; THE AIRPLANE WAS TAXIED TO THE GATE. THE PAX EXITED THE ACFT VIA THE JETBRIDGE. MOST PAX WERE CALM AND SHOWED NO SIGNS OF DISTRESS. AS WE WERE ABOUT TO INTERCEPT THE FINAL APCH COURSE; I HEARD A LOUD EXPLOSION AND NOTED THE ACFT INTERIOR TRIM OF THE CLR VIEW WINDOW HAD BEEN PUSHED TOWARD MY R SHOULDER. I HEARD A RUSH OF AIR. I ORIGINALLY SUSPECTED A RAPID DEPRESSURIZATION AND WAS LOOKING FOR A CRACKED OR BROKEN WINDOW. I ASKED THE CAPT IF HE WANTED ME TO DECLARE AN EMER AND HE SAID YES. I CALLED APCH TO DECLARE THE EMER AND REQUESTED THE CFR CREW. THE CAPT SAID HE WAS HAVING A HARD TIME CTLING THE ACFT BUT LATER IT WAS SUSPECTED THAT IT WAS THE TURB AND INITIAL YAW OF THE BIRD STRIKE. WE CONFIGURED THE ACFT FURTHER AND THEN SPOKE TO THE FLT ATTENDANTS TO ASCERTAIN THE SIT OF THE PAX COMPARTMENT. THEY RPTED NO SMOKE; DAMAGE; OR ADDITIONAL NOISES FROM THE REAR OF THE PLANE. I INSTRUCTED THEM TO PREPARE FOR AN EMER LNDG AND THAT WE DID NOT NOW THE NATURE OF THE EMER BUT THEY HAD 1 MIN 30 SECONDS TO PREPARE. THE ACFT LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. AFTER LNDG; I CALLED TO THE BACK AND ASKED IF THE SIT HAD CHANGED AND THEY STATED THAT A FLT ATTENDANT (SUSPECT A COMMUTER OR DEADHEADER) IN THE BACK OF THE PLANE SAW A BRIGHT FLASH FROM THE R SIDE OF THE PLANE. THE CAPT THEN ELECTED TO SHUT DOWN THE R ENG. WE TOLD THEM THERE WOULD NOT BE AN EMER EVAC AND THAT WE WOULD GO TO THE GATE. THE CFR CREW DID NOT SEE ANY ENG DAMAGE SO THE CAPT DECIDED TO TAXI TO THE GATE WITH THE CFR CREW IN TRAIL.