Narrative:

While climbing through 16000 feet; the first officer and I heard a large pop and immediately observed the right-side windshield shattered. I took control of the aircraft for a brief moment; reduced thrust to maintain approximately 250 knots and stopped the climb. At this point; we were at approximately 16;400 feet. I then notified center that we had a cracked windshield and would be stopping the climb. Center then cleared us to descend back to 16000 ft.once the situation had stabilized; I gave aircraft control back to the first officer. We then referenced the 'QRH - impaired or cracked windshield' checklist. We followed the checklist; which asked the pilot to determine if 'only outer layer cracked?' both the first officer and I felt the windshield with our bare hands. The windshield visually looked as if the inner layer was cracked but felt smooth to the touch which led us to believe the only the outer layer of the windshield had been damaged. According to the checklist; if only the outer layer is damaged; the checklist ends. Silently; (in the case that we were incorrect on which layer was shattered) I read the remainder of the checklist and noted the procedure; which includes oxygen masks; smoke goggles; airspeed; and altitude restrictions.I send a message via ACARS to dispatch noting the situation. While waiting for a reply I began searching for the best airport for diversion. Dispatch acknowledged my message; asked if I was diverting to ZZZ? Being that we were very near ZZZ; I conferred with the first officer and decided to divert to ZZZ as the best course of action. Due to the first officer's windshield being cracked; obscuring normal vision; the controls were transferred to the captain. I then became the flying pilot and the first officer took over the non-flying pilot duties. The first officer immediately jumped into action to set up the aircraft for diversion and approach. We contacted the flight attendant and passengers and notified them of the diversion. Dispatchers did a great job of providing operational assistance; sending us updated weather; and notifying the airport of our arrival.center handed us off to approach control at which time we were notified by approach control that center had requested priority handling on our behalf. The first officer and I worked together to complete the normal checklist items and made a normal; yet overweight landing.airport operations; ramp agents; and contract maintenance were all waiting [for] our arrival and provided great assistance to the crew; and passengers. Once parked at the gate; the first officer and I; along with maintenance; took a closer look at the windshield both from the inside and out. It appears that only the inner layer of the windshield had been shattered; not the outer; as we had initially determined.the flight ended in success due to the coordinated efforts and CRM by all involved. However; in retrospect; the QRH did not provide any guidance on how to determine which layer of windshield had failed. Again; in retrospect; the flight deck crew did not take the correct track on the 'QRH - impaired or cracked windshield' checklist; which; had the windshield been further compromised; could have led to much more severe ramifications.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB-145 Captain reported a failure of the right side windshield. After completing all appropriate checklists; the flight crew successfully diverted to a suitable airfield.

Narrative: While climbing through 16000 feet; the first officer and I heard a large pop and immediately observed the right-side windshield shattered. I took control of the aircraft for a brief moment; reduced thrust to maintain approximately 250 knots and stopped the climb. At this point; we were at approximately 16;400 feet. I then notified Center that we had a cracked windshield and would be stopping the climb. Center then cleared us to descend back to 16000 ft.Once the situation had stabilized; I gave aircraft control back to the First Officer. We then referenced the 'QRH - Impaired or Cracked Windshield' checklist. We followed the checklist; which asked the pilot to determine if 'Only Outer Layer Cracked?' Both the first officer and I felt the windshield with our bare hands. The windshield visually looked as if the inner layer was cracked but felt smooth to the touch which led us to believe the only the outer layer of the windshield had been damaged. According to the checklist; if only the outer layer is damaged; the checklist ends. Silently; (in the case that we were incorrect on which layer was shattered) I read the remainder of the checklist and noted the procedure; which includes oxygen masks; smoke goggles; airspeed; and altitude restrictions.I send a message via ACARS to Dispatch noting the situation. While waiting for a reply I began searching for the best airport for diversion. Dispatch acknowledged my message; asked if I was diverting to ZZZ? Being that we were very near ZZZ; I conferred with the first officer and decided to divert to ZZZ as the best course of action. Due to the First Officer's windshield being cracked; obscuring normal vision; the controls were transferred to the Captain. I then became the flying pilot and the First Officer took over the Non-Flying Pilot duties. The First Officer immediately jumped into action to set up the aircraft for diversion and approach. We contacted the flight attendant and passengers and notified them of the diversion. Dispatchers did a great job of providing operational assistance; sending us updated weather; and notifying the airport of our arrival.Center handed us off to Approach control at which time we were notified by Approach Control that Center had requested priority handling on our behalf. The First Officer and I worked together to complete the normal checklist items and made a normal; yet overweight landing.Airport operations; ramp agents; and contract maintenance were all waiting [for] our arrival and provided great assistance to the crew; and passengers. Once parked at the gate; the first officer and I; along with maintenance; took a closer look at the windshield both from the inside and out. It appears that only the inner layer of the windshield had been shattered; not the outer; as we had initially determined.The flight ended in success due to the coordinated efforts and CRM by all involved. However; in retrospect; the QRH did not provide any guidance on how to determine which layer of windshield had failed. Again; in retrospect; the flight deck crew did not take the correct track on the 'QRH - Impaired or Cracked Windshield' checklist; which; had the windshield been further compromised; could have led to much more severe ramifications.

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.