With no one hurt, integrity of flight unchanged, and only one Lu obstructed - why divert (especially to ICT where UAL has no mx)? The safety need for those exit doors would be no different if either ICT or SNA.

I'm sure the pax would have wanted to press on as scheduled rather than divert for an inconvenient overnight in ICT.

OK we Monday morning Q backs were not there but I agree with L-38. After deflating it with a suitable tool carried as emergency equipment it is just an annoyance. Brief for one door inop on landing and continue to destination.

There seems to be a lot of a** covering and not a lot of thought goes into abnormals these days. Probably the X generation that have got into management and pilots have to Kow Tow to them.

Does anyone know if the flight crew deflated the slide inflight?

Could the crew have been sure there was no structural damage? A quick Google search gave an inflation pressure of 3 PSI. That's maybe half the differential from aircraft pressurization, but presumably it could go higher if the slide were inflated in a confined area. And, of course, the load would be transferred to the aircraft structure differently than pressurization load.

Moosp has an excellent point that I had not considered . . . just staying one step ahead of management's relentless attempts to gig you, now plays as the ultimate consideration in dealing with any un-written abnormal - just put her down!

How easy is it to confirm that no one is pinned under a slide?
How about when the FAs escape forward and the slide divides the aircraft in half? How good is communication with the aft end?

The guys up front are pilots not engineers.
They have no idea what caused the slide to deploy or what other damage may be lurking unseen. The FE who would probably have fully understood the situation no longer exists.

Rather get it on the ground and let the experts deal with the problem.

Headcount. It's only a 737, not the Radiance of the Skies (oops, Seas).

I'm with moosp. Deflate it with the @#$ and press on.

I am pretty sure that dispatch and maintain acne were involved in the decision to divert. The captain could have done it on his own, but that would be very unusual for a United crew.

Window heat is indeed correct in the explanation of the girt bar,
many times the door is shut from the outside,only by the loaders,
and it is possible to shut the door without the girt bar being fully
engaged..depending of course on aircraft type..the A380 has a middle
button which you must depress constantly for full travel of the door.