Incident Overview
While en route from Singapore to Narita, Japan, a flight attendant began transferring a serving cart from the main deck to the upper deck using the galley lift. As the attendant pushed the cart into the lift, the lift started to move upward. The leading edge of the lift caught the cart, lifting it off the floor. The flight attendant became trapped between the opposite end of the cart and a galley counter facing the lift.
Sequence of Events
The cart's elevation raised the flight attendant off her feet, forcing her body onto the top of the galley counter. The lift continued to rise, pinning the attendant's face between the cart and storage bins located above the galley counter. The lift remained in this position until it could be safely lowered after the aircraft landed.
Post-Landing Inspection
After the aircraft arrived at its destination, maintenance personnel inspected the galley lift mechanism. They discovered that a piece of cardboard had been wedged into the interlock safety switch. This tampering disabled the switch, allowing the lift to be operated without its door being closed. The source notes that in other incidents, food service personnel have used similar methods to expedite the loading of catering supplies.
Findings
The disabling of the safety interlock prevented the lift from detecting that its door was open, enabling the lift to move while the flight attendant was positioning the cart. No other causal factors were identified in the source material.