What happened
While the parked aircraft was prepared for pushback, a flight attendant was informed by a colleague that a through-passenger had reported a missing item. Specifically, a cabin cleaning crew had mistakenly removed a child's stuffed animal, and the passenger requested its return.
Following this report, the 'A' flight attendant opened the forward entry door. At this time, the jetway had already backed away from the aircraft. The flight attendant either lost his balance or failed to realize that the jetway was no longer in position, resulting in a fall of 8 feet, 3 inches onto the tarmac below.
The incident resulted in one injury, involving fractured wrists, a fractured jaw, and a concussion.
Findings
An investigation into the incident included statements from the company's chief flight attendant, which indicated that the crew member violated company policy and procedures by opening the cabin door before the jetway had been properly placed in position against the aircraft.