Incident Overview
A flight attendant fell from an aircraft during the opening of the L5 door. At the time, the flight attendant was assisting a company ground person who was stationed on the boarding step outside the aircraft. The boarding step was not positioned flush against the aircraft; instead, it was approximately one foot away from the fuselage. When the door was opened, the flight attendant fell through the open doorway to the ground about 20 feet below.
Communication and Door Operation
The company's established procedure requires the use of hand signal communication between personnel inside and outside the aircraft during door opening operations. However, the investigation revealed that radio communications were being used between the ground personnel and a company representative. The ground person was unable to activate the door and requested the company representative to open it. The door still would not open. The company representative then requested assistance from the nearby flight attendant.
Positioning of Boarding Steps
Initially, the boarding steps were fully against the aircraft. However, they were pulled away when it was found that the door would not clear the handrails of the boarding step. The airframe has a curvature at the location of the L5 door, while the boarding step is square shaped. This mismatch in shape contributed to the clearance issue.
Investigation Findings
The investigation focused on the sequence of events and the communication methods used. No probable cause was stated in the source material.