Narrative:

Taxi and takeoff were normal. The first officer was the pilot flying; and the captain was the pilot monitoring. After leveling off at FL290; we started to notice what appeared to be small sparks; and possibly arcing; in the upper left corner of the captain's windshield. It was intermittent at first; but then became continuous. The captain directed the first officer to take control of the radios; as the captain referenced the QRH. The sparking started to glow; and began to spread from a small 2-3 square inch area to approximately a 5-6 square inch area. The first officer noticed this; and suggested that we turn off the windshield heat to stop the sparking from continuing to grow. The captain agreed that this action was the safest to do immediately. We turned off the windshield heat; and the glowing ceased. We had already coordinated with ATC to begin a descent; and were slowing. We asked for vectors from ATC in order to remain close to [a suitable airport] in case we needed to divert and land. After we began our descent; the captain's windshield shattered in at least one ply. It was difficult to determine which ply or plies were shattered. Due to the damage to the windshield; and considering the very low ceilings and visibility in our destination; we decided that the safest course of action would be to divert to [a nearby suitable airport]. At this point; pressure indications were normal; and the differential pressure was decreasing as we descended. We checked the landing weight; and determined that we would not be overweight landing. The captain called flight control; describing the nature of our situation and the desire to divert. The captain then informed the flight attendant and made an announcement to the passengers. The first officer worked with ATC to receive vectors to an ILS approach. We had remained in very close proximity to the airport; so the ensuing vectoring and approach happened quickly. We landed without further incident; and contacted station operations to explain the situation and request a gate and passenger assistance.the most immediate threat was that part of the captain's front windshield was experiencing some arcing; which resulted in the windshield shattering in one or more plies. It was night time; so it was difficult to determine which ply or plies was affected. Another threat was that the weather at our destination was very low overcast; and reduced visibility; such that a category ii approach might have been necessary had we continued. Also; there was a procedure in the QRH for this event; but its location in the QRH was not obvious; since there was no red / amber cas message associated with it. Another threat was the high workload for both pilots; as we addressed the situation; then worked out the diversion; and communicated to all involved.I think that ultimately we took the best course of action from a safety standpoint. However; I had some difficulty locating the correct procedure in the QRH. There was no cas message associated with the issue; and I began looking in the QRH sections. Now that I've been through the situation; I know exactly where to look. I also see that the index is helpful in this case. Since there's no cas message for direction; perhaps there could be a reference that could direct the reader? With the arcing growing and spreading; it seemed potentially like an emergency type of situation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ-200 flight crew reported diverting after the Captain's window displayed arcing and then shattered.

Narrative: Taxi and takeoff were normal. The First Officer was the Pilot Flying; and the Captain was the Pilot Monitoring. After leveling off at FL290; we started to notice what appeared to be small sparks; and possibly arcing; in the upper left corner of the Captain's windshield. It was intermittent at first; but then became continuous. The Captain directed the First Officer to take control of the radios; as the Captain referenced the QRH. The sparking started to glow; and began to spread from a small 2-3 square inch area to approximately a 5-6 square inch area. The First Officer noticed this; and suggested that we turn off the windshield heat to stop the sparking from continuing to grow. The Captain agreed that this action was the safest to do immediately. We turned off the windshield heat; and the glowing ceased. We had already coordinated with ATC to begin a descent; and were slowing. We asked for vectors from ATC in order to remain close to [a suitable airport] in case we needed to divert and land. After we began our descent; the Captain's windshield shattered in at least one ply. It was difficult to determine which ply or plies were shattered. Due to the damage to the windshield; and considering the very low ceilings and visibility in our destination; we decided that the safest course of action would be to divert to [a nearby suitable airport]. At this point; pressure indications were normal; and the differential pressure was decreasing as we descended. We checked the landing weight; and determined that we would not be overweight landing. The Captain called Flight Control; describing the nature of our situation and the desire to divert. The Captain then informed the Flight Attendant and made an announcement to the passengers. The First Officer worked with ATC to receive vectors to an ILS approach. We had remained in very close proximity to the airport; so the ensuing vectoring and approach happened quickly. We landed without further incident; and contacted station Operations to explain the situation and request a gate and passenger assistance.The most immediate threat was that part of the Captain's front windshield was experiencing some arcing; which resulted in the windshield shattering in one or more plies. It was night time; so it was difficult to determine which ply or plies was affected. Another threat was that the weather at our destination was very low overcast; and reduced visibility; such that a Category II approach might have been necessary had we continued. Also; there was a procedure in the QRH for this event; but its location in the QRH was not obvious; since there was no red / amber CAS message associated with it. Another threat was the high workload for both pilots; as we addressed the situation; then worked out the diversion; and communicated to all involved.I think that ultimately we took the best course of action from a safety standpoint. However; I had some difficulty locating the correct procedure in the QRH. There was no CAS message associated with the issue; and I began looking in the QRH sections. Now that I've been through the situation; I know exactly where to look. I also see that the index is helpful in this case. Since there's no CAS message for direction; perhaps there could be a reference that could direct the reader? With the arcing growing and spreading; it seemed potentially like an emergency type of situation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.