B757-200
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Landed As Precaution
Aircraft
In cruise I noticed a couple of pin point sized orange glows at the bottom of the Captain's forward windshield. Looked at it with flashlight and we could tell that they were coming from a small area of delamination at the base of the windshield. As the frequency and size grew we agreed they were being caused by the windshield heat. We ran the QRH which directed us to secure the forward windshield heat. We notified maintenance that we were doing so. Within a few minutes of turning off the heat we heard a loud pop and the windshield had shattered. We [advised ATC] and start a descent to 15;000. After reviewing our options we decided to divert to [a nearby suitable airport]. FO did an excellent job getting aircraft down and configured while I did FMS work and notified [operations].Cause [was a] fault in the windshield heat system.I understand from talking to the duty officer and maintenance that we have had a rash of the shattered windows recently.
B757-200 Captain reported his forward windshield shattered in cruise flight. Flight diverted to a suitable alternate.