Procedures for opening the DOORS

[LEM]

After parking, do your flight attendants:

- disarm slides, then wait for ground personnel to knock on the door, then open it, or

- disarm slides, crack the door open, then wait for the ground personnel to knock on the door to open it completely.

?

I think the second procedure is correct, and in some places they won't even approach the airplane if they don't see the door cracked open.

[spannersatcx]

Disarm the slides, get the thumbs up from CC then open the door from the OUTSIDE.

[m500dpp]

My daughter is half way through her cabin crew training for Astraeus, and this is the one bit that worries me. There is a strap across the exit, but I'm not convinced it will help much, she seems unconcerned about it even though it appears from what she has told me there is no procedure to make sure the boarding ladder in in place outside.........

Anyone from Astraeus here to comment, or am I worrying unecesarily?

[None]

There are many airplanes where if the door is opened from the outside the design should prevent accidental slide deployment. For these jets, our F/As disarm, get out of the way of the interior handle, then give a thumbs up to the outside so it can be opened externally.
This does not apply to the older jets that require manually installing and removing the girt-bar.

[despegue]

Doors should be opened (at least partially) from the Inside on B737's.
The reason is simple: ONLY the Crew knows if the slide is disarmed. The red "armed" straps are merely an indication for both ground and flight-crew.
If you teach your CC properly how to operate the doors, accidents should not occur. An inflating slide can cause lethal injuries.

[BOAC]

m500dpp - it SHOULD be quite safe as our crew wait for a knock on the door (from the outside) and since few of the groundstaff are mountain goats:), there are almost certainly going to be stairs (or a jetty) in place.

[m500dpp]

Thanks BOAC, sure I am worrying for no reason, the training really seems very thorough.....

[Bullethead]

Dunno about the various Airbus types, but on Boeings opening a door from the outside also disarms the slide. :ok:
The boys and girls on our a/c are ordered to disarm the doors approaching the aerobridge and the doors are opened by ground staff once shut down, after the knock knock and thumbs up from the cabin crew.
At night or in bad weather or in poor light it would be difficult to see, from in the cabin, whether steps or an aerobridge are correctly in place so, as mentioned previously, if the door is opened from the outside, unless the operator is 25feet tall, there will be something there to step onto.
Regards,
BH.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

It does on Airbus but not on all Boeing aircraft.
B737 does not disarm from outside.:ok:

[Captb747]

I was a company trainer on the correct procedure of door opening and closing..... As we placed the Airbridge at the a/c side we would knock on the door and wait for a thumbs up from the CC. Once we got the thumbs up, we would look into the window on the door and ensure the area was clear of pax, crew etc and then crack the door and physically check that the girt bar was disengaged.

I know the action of releasing the butterfly handles SHOULD disarm a door from the outside but you can never be to careful.

Of course this was not really possible on the Airbus as you cant see the girt bar that well so we had to rely on the Armed light..:ok:

[LEM]

Cracking the door opened is a better indication to ground personnel that the slide has been disarmed.

The hazard is not only for the FA to fall down, but to ground people to receive the slide on their head.

The orange strap across the viewer should in theory be enough, but cracking the door opened is better.

I remember once in Ukraine they wouldn't approach the door as our FA are not trained to crack it opened.
So they called me via interphone to do that...

Even there, at a remote african-type airfield, their procedures were better than ours...

[TURIN]

At my current location there is an AIRPORT rule.
No cabin doors are to be opened, left open or operated in any way unless there is a platform at the door at the threshold level. The airport issue regular fines to those who do not comply.
As for the yellow strap... ashtrays and motorcycles come to mind. :ugh::=:ok:

[Puritan]

m500dpp, there certainly is a procedure!

You might like to invite your daughter to read Astraeus' Operations Manual / Part A / Operating Procedures / Section 8.2.2.4.5 where it says:Under normal circumstances no passenger / service door must be left open without any service equipment being positioned at the door except where integral airstairs are used.

During transits and turn-rounds where doors are required to be opened from inside the aircraft, confirmation that equipment is in position, in the form of two knocks by hand on the outside of the aircraft door, must be received by the crew before the doors are opened.

Furthermore, in Astraeus' Operations Manual / Part E / Safety, Equipment & Procedures (SEP) it says:

B737-300 / Sections 5.16.2.2 - Door Safety Straps:
B737-700 / Sections 5.16.2.2 - Door Safety Straps:When a door is opened and prior to having steps, airbridge or catering truck positioned outside the yellow door safety strap must be placed across the opening to prevent crew members sustaining injury. Doors must not at any time be left open and unattended outside, by either steps or airbridge or catering truck, whether the safety strap is in position or not.
B757-200 / Sections 5.16.2.4 - Door Safety Straps:Doors may only be opened once steps, airbridge or catering truck have been positioned outside the door and Cabin Crew have received the external knock. The door safety strap must be placed across the opening to prevent crew members sustaining injury. However doors must not at any time be left open and unattended outside, by either steps or airbridge or catering truck, whether the safety strap is in position or not.

I also recall a Notice / Memo being issued about this, i.e. that having open doors high above the ground is bloody dangerous - and therein we take the safety of all concerned very seriously!

[m500dpp]

Thanks Puritan, I was sure there would be suitable procedures in place, its just that my daughter has been busy studying and hadn't conveyed that to me!!!

[BOAC]

We may be confusing the 2 different straps here?

(Commonly) a yellow strap across an open door to remind all that it is a long way down. We very nearly had a fatal in BA at LGW on a 737 when a c/crew lady lost her footing (again a wet floor) and fell onto the apron. She did fly again, but only after several years, brave lady. It is a constant struggle to educate both ground services and most importantly c/crew NOT to open the door unless equipment is in place. Then, of course, the galley waste bins on a 737 cannot be emptied unless the door is open and...................:ugh:

The (commonly) red strap is also important. It serves a double purpose - to remind those 'inside' that the door is armed and those outside similarly so they do not try to open the door (which is why it goes across the window). I believe a dispatcher was either killed or VSI at LHR by a fast expanding slide when he/she opened an armed door on a jetty.

[LEM]

So, in conclusion, it seems (to go back to my original dilemma) that cracking the door open, which is NOT an open door, is seldom done around most airlines?

Just to remind, cracking the door open serves the purpose of giving a better indication to ground personnel that the slide is disarmed, so they won't receive it on their head upon opening the door.

[Cough]

LEM,

Thing is, for the 737 slide to go, the slide has to pull from the slide bussel attached to the door, fall down (supported by the girt bar attached to the aircraft) clear of the door for the slide to be activated. Saw this happen in slo mo comedy style from outside door 1R .

So, just cracking the door doesn't re-assure anyone that the slide isn't armed. All it does is delay the inevitable... (unless the ground staff are particularly clued up in which case then peering under the door will reveal all)

ATB, Cough

[MrHorgy]

LEM,

Speaking as ex-cabin crew for Tfly, and MyTravel, we were instructed that it's only a special occasion where you can open a door without steps/airbridge. Things like emptying the bins on the Airbus you had to crack the door a bit, but even then that was deemed dangerous so they plugged the bins.

We always had to wait for the double knock to confirm stairs/bridge were in position and it was safe to open, then the CREW would open the door. The ground staff sometimes helped (757 door is heavy) but generally stayed out of the way.

The only exception I can think of is waiting for the ambilift to raise an the door had to be opened - in that case wait for the ambilift to arrive and open up, placing the safety strap across the door. I don't think the strap is designed so much to catch you, but more to be visible. Ours were Black and yellow striped and pretty noticeable :ok:

Horgy