no way i would sign a permit if its failed to the point where pieces are coming in the cockpit whos to say it wont fail completely when you pick up airspeed Play it safe and get another one and change it Besides that are your pilots willing to fly it in that condition most i know wont do it if there is a chance of total failure your call be careful
You might be surprised.
The heated windscreen in the King Air 200 has several options, but is layered glass. Failures in layers aren't unheard of; it happens. Delaminations, cracking or failures in various layers aren't that unusual. Beech authorizes certain operations without the necessity of a special flight permit, though one ought to obtain one and use the aircraft flight manual as contributing approved data in gettin gthe signature from a reluctant mechanic.
Unpressurized, the aircraft really offers very little hazard.
You might even be surprised at the dynamic pressure present at the windscreen itself. Many would tend to assume that significant dynamic pressure exists over the face of the windscreen during forward flight. A tuft test may yield unexpected results.
Earlier this year I had an explosive depressurization in a Cessna 421 when the windscreen blew out. It failed, blew out, and took some of the interior with it, as well as the glareshield, part of the top of the windscreen, a checklist, and other things in the cockpit. The glareshield over the instrument panel, as well as the top of the panel, was outside the aircraft in front of the cockpit. No airflow entered the cockpit at all; in fact, I was able to put my hand outside the cockpit without any sense of airflow over it at all.
Point is, while this wasn't a King Air, while you may think a fracture in a windscreen is going to cause an implosion into the cockpit with attendant shattering of glass and other dangers, your fears are misplaced. The pressure on that windscreen pushing inward isn't what you think it is. The pressures on the King Air windscreen are those pushing outward during pressurization.
I must say that even after I had the mask and fog goggles on and was back down through 250, I was pretty scared. Cracks were still forming until the speed was down to 140-120. I was happy to get out of the airplane.
Quite natural, but not really warranted. Doubtless you did a find job addressing the problem, running a checklist, and getting back on the ground. Once the airframe was unpressurized (and hopefully windshield heat off), the risk to you was largely no longer an issue. Never the less, one should never assume, and clearly you didn't. Look at it as a good learning experience.
