Cessna 208 captain reported that the windshield became electrically charged and attracted small blac...

Attributes
ACN	1514088
Time
Date	201801
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.TRACON
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Caravan 208B
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cockpit Furnishing
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 2500 Flight Crew Type 1000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

While flying through dry snow my first officer observed black particles adhering to the inside of the windshield. He reached over to wipe them off and twice experienced an electrical shock/discharge onto his hand. We discussed what we were experiencing and checked the electrical instruments and circuit breakers. What we observed presented itself as an electrical problem or avionics/radio breakdown. Although we didn't have a burnt odor we were in IMC conditions so I requested priority handling for the approach to land in the event that avionics failure was imminent.after a normal approach and landing we were met at the gate by aircraft rescue and fire fighting (arff) and company technicians. After technicians consulted with the aircraft manufacturer tech rep it was determined that the windshield was being electrically charged from the dry snow aloft and that the black particles were pieces of the instrument visor being attracted and drawn up to it. I'd like to communicate what we experienced to the other pilots in our company. Unfortunately; we do not have a voluntary reporting system that is anonymous within our company. Had someone informed me of this prior I would not have had to request priority handling I as would have known what was causing what we were experiencing.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Cessna 208 Captain reported that the windshield became electrically charged and attracted small black particles from a deteriorating instrument visor. The Captain also reported that the First Officer was electrically shocked when he touched the inside of the windshield.

Narrative: While flying through dry snow my First Officer observed black particles adhering to the inside of the windshield. He reached over to wipe them off and twice experienced an electrical shock/discharge onto his hand. We discussed what we were experiencing and checked the electrical instruments and circuit breakers. What we observed presented itself as an electrical problem or avionics/radio breakdown. Although we didn't have a burnt odor we were in IMC conditions so I requested priority handling for the approach to land in the event that avionics failure was imminent.After a normal approach and landing we were met at the gate by Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) and company technicians. After technicians consulted with the aircraft manufacturer tech rep it was determined that the windshield was being electrically charged from the dry snow aloft and that the black particles were pieces of the instrument visor being attracted and drawn up to it. I'd like to communicate what we experienced to the other pilots in our company. Unfortunately; we do not have a voluntary reporting system that is anonymous within our company. Had someone informed me of this prior I would not have had to request priority handling I as would have known what was causing what we were experiencing.

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.

Cessna 208 captain reported that the windshield became electrically charged and attracted small black particles from a deteriorating instrument visor. The captain also reported that the first officer was electrically shocked when he touched the inside of the windshield.