Srilankan A332 near Colombo on Jan 1st 2014, cracked windshield

A Srilankan Airlines Airbus A330-200, registration 4R-ALH performing flight UL-503 from Colombo (Sri Lanka) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was enroute at FL340 about 240nm northnorthwest of Colombo and about 80nm east of Kochi (India) over India, when the crew initiated an emergency descent to 10,000 feet reporting a cracked windshield. The aircraft returned to Colombo for a safe landing on runway 04 about one hour after leaving FL340.

The airline reported the middle layer of the 3-layer windshield cracked, in accordance with manufacturer procedures the crew therefore descended the aircraft to 10,000 feet to minimize the pressure differential on the windshield. The airline stated that allegations, the crew had lost control of the aircraft and nose dived the aircraft, were untrue, the crew followed standard procedures.