FAA regulations for transport class aircraft. Have fun perusing them.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID...r25_main_02.tpl

The WSJ article has since been debunked.

In regards to the failure theories, the two most probably theories I've heard, human caused notwithstanding, are a fast moving cockpit fire and birdstrike.

It's not the first time that a plane has gone radome to beak at high altitude. The windshield is only required to rated for a 4 lb plucker, and birds like the bar headed goose or a variety of vultures found at high altitudes typically weigh more then that. Does anybody know how long somebody would remain functional with a sizable hole in the windshield at cruise conditions (510 kts, 35,000 ft alt, -55C temp)?

There was one famous incident where a White Pelican hit an Bombardier CRJ hard enough to knock some of the avionics out of the instrument panel.

I've yet to find an instance of meteorite strike on an aircraft, so I'm going to dismiss that as MUSHy thinking.

EDIT: Windshield failure at 17,300 ft alt.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_5390