Narrative:

Aircraft arrived with window heat right inoperative. Maintenance asked during flight pre-brief if we would accept aircraft with deferred window heat inoperative. After discussions over weather and MEL stating that must remain out of any forecast icing it was apparent that we could not. We therefore declined the aircraft with the concurrence of both maintenance and dispatch. Diagnosis and repair took approximately 2 hours and we departed without incident nearly one hour past the original departure time. The flight takeoff and departure were normal until approximately 8;000 ft when we got a master caution and status message window heat right. I was the flying pilot I continued to fly the airplane and assisted with the radios while the captain and other co-pilot handled the problem. The decision to return to the departure was made because weather on the departure as throughout the flight had significant areas of icing. Additionally the decision to land over weight was made. With weather all around the airport staying out of icing would be impossible. Landing weight was below performance (go-around) but above structural landing limits. An emergency was declared because of the possibility of hot brakes after landing. Dispatch and operations were contacted prior to landing. Window heat inoperative as well overweight checklists were accomplished. The arrival and approach were uneventful and landing was made with no unusual force. Aircraft came to an easy stop with nearly 3;000 ft remaining. Emergency responders saw no issue with aircraft tires or brakes. Taxied normally into the cargo area and had the aircraft chalked.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The B777 arrived with the right windshield heat inoperative but it could not be MEL'ed because of icing so it was repaired prior to departure. However; it failed again after takeoff so an emergency was declared for the return to the departure airport.

Narrative: Aircraft arrived with window heat right inoperative. Maintenance asked during flight pre-brief if we would accept aircraft with deferred window heat inoperative. After discussions over weather and MEL stating that must remain out of any forecast icing it was apparent that we could not. We therefore declined the aircraft with the concurrence of both Maintenance and Dispatch. Diagnosis and repair took approximately 2 hours and we departed without incident nearly one hour past the original departure time. The flight takeoff and departure were normal until approximately 8;000 FT when we got a Master Caution and Status message Window Heat Right. I was the flying pilot I continued to fly the airplane and assisted with the radios while the Captain and other co-pilot handled the problem. The decision to return to the departure was made because weather on the departure as throughout the flight had significant areas of icing. Additionally the decision to land over weight was made. With weather all around the airport staying out of icing would be impossible. Landing weight was below performance (go-around) but above structural landing limits. An emergency was declared because of the possibility of hot brakes after landing. Dispatch and Operations were contacted prior to landing. Window Heat Inoperative as well Overweight Checklists were accomplished. The arrival and approach were uneventful and landing was made with no unusual force. Aircraft came to an easy stop with nearly 3;000 FT remaining. Emergency responders saw no issue with aircraft tires or brakes. Taxied normally into the cargo area and had the aircraft chalked.

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.