A B767-300 captain's windshield outer pane shattered in cruise at FL340 and became an opaque brown. ...

Narrative:

At FL340 first officer and myself were seated at our duty stations. We heard what sounded like something impacting the aircraft. We both noticed that the windshield on my side was shattered with a brown tar looking substance on the outside. I noted there was no cabin pressure indication however I instructed first officer to put her mask and goggles on as did I. I did not know what had happened and never experienced this before in the fifteen years as a captain on this fleet. My first thoughts and concern was to get to a lower habitable altitude in the unlikely event the aircraft had suffered other damage or the windshield might fail completely. I declared an emergency with ATC for a lower altitude. I did broadcast a brief description with the controller what was taking place. At FL240 I ask for a checklist from the QRH and to plot the nearest suitable airport. After completing the checklist I felt the windshield did have some type of electrical failure. I then called to the back and brought up first officer who was on a crew rest. I also briefed the purser to the situation and gave consideration to landing at the nearest field. I then contacted maintenance through dispatch via satcom. Maintenance felt comfortable with our description and information and agreed that it was electrical failure of the outer pane. I advised ATC that we had talked with our company and our checklist indicate that we able to continue to our planned destination. For fuel reasons I requested FL300 and .78 mach. I did explain to ATC that I did not need emergency handling that my intent was to declare an emergency to descend because of the unknown issue with the windshield. I felt it better to get to an altitude that was VFR on top and run our checklist. I had never seen an event with a windshield and my main concern was for the safety of the passengers; aircraft and crew. My responsibility is safety first. Declaring an emergency maybe viewed by others as premature; but looking through a completely shattered outer pane required a split second decision which I stand by solely. First officer landed the aircraft as my visibility was less than acceptable for a normal operation. Both first officers agreed with our decision to continue on to our destination.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B767-300 Captain's windshield outer pane shattered in cruise at FL340 and became an opaque brown. Maintenance and the flight crew concurred that the flight could continue safely to the planned destination.

Narrative: At FL340 First Officer and myself were seated at our duty stations. We heard what sounded like something impacting the aircraft. We both noticed that the windshield on my side was shattered with a brown tar looking substance on the outside. I noted there was no cabin pressure indication however I instructed First Officer to put her mask and goggles on as did I. I did not know what had happened and never experienced this before in the fifteen years as a Captain on this fleet. My first thoughts and concern was to get to a lower habitable altitude in the unlikely event the aircraft had suffered other damage or the windshield might fail completely. I declared an emergency with ATC for a lower altitude. I did broadcast a brief description with the Controller what was taking place. At FL240 I ask for a checklist from the QRH and to plot the nearest suitable airport. After completing the checklist I felt the windshield did have some type of electrical failure. I then called to the back and brought up First Officer who was on a crew rest. I also briefed the Purser to the situation and gave consideration to landing at the nearest field. I then contacted Maintenance through Dispatch via SATCOM. Maintenance felt comfortable with our description and information and agreed that it was electrical failure of the outer pane. I advised ATC that we had talked with our Company and our checklist indicate that we able to continue to our planned destination. For fuel reasons I requested FL300 and .78 mach. I did explain to ATC that I did not need emergency handling that my intent was to declare an emergency to descend because of the unknown issue with the windshield. I felt it better to get to an altitude that was VFR on top and run our checklist. I had never seen an event with a windshield and my main concern was for the safety of the passengers; aircraft and crew. My responsibility is safety first. Declaring an emergency maybe viewed by others as premature; but looking through a completely shattered outer pane required a split second decision which I stand by solely. First Officer landed the aircraft as my visibility was less than acceptable for a normal operation. Both First Officers agreed with our decision to continue on to our destination.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	940613
Time
Date	201103
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B767-300 and 300 ER
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cockpit Window
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	Relief Pilot Pilot Not Flying
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown

A B767-300 captain's windshield outer pane shattered in cruise at FL340 and became an opaque brown. Maintenance and the flight crew concurred that the flight could continue safely to the planned destination.