2024-03 · NASA ASRS report 2101565
B737 flight crew reported the aft entry door light went off during initial climb and the door handle went out of the lock position. Flight Attendant secured the door handle and the flight continued.
At initial climb AFT ENTRY DOOR light came on momentarily. As we reflected on our plan of action we passed 10;000 ft.; I intentionally delayed turning off sterile light. The same light came on again. At that point we asked ATC to level off at 12;000 ft. and run the appropriate checklist. Simultaneously we checked with the flight attendants what is the situation at the cabin.We learned that the Flight Attendant at the aft galley noticed that the door handle next to her got out of lock position and she pushed it down to secure it. That probably turned the initial indication off.I did not know that at the time; since the jump seat next to the door was MEL; she had to move out of her original seat to get to the door handle and to use the intercom phone. That put her in unsafe situation. We briefed the whole operation with the crew after the flight and explained the concerns I had with moving out of the seat with potentially open door.The Flight Attendant did excellent job informing us about the door status. We had good communication with the cabin crew. At the flight deck we split the work; the FO (First Officer) ran the checklist; which brought us to conclusion we need to go back to ZZZ. I communicated with the passengers and FA (Flight Attendant); FO ACARS Dispatch and notified ATC. We asked for vectors to burn some fuel to prevent overweight landing; also configured early for that reason. We managed to get below max landing weight at 1;500 ft.We were assigned Runway XX at ZZZ. After landing we learned that the forward FA pushed down on the door handle since she had the impression it is not in the right position. We notified maintenance about this as well. No further incidents.
During climb-out at approximately 400 ft.; crew noticed a master caution and door indication on the recall panel. The aft entry door light was illuminated on the door panel and extinguished within 30 seconds. Shortly later climbing through 10;000 ft. the master caution; door recall; and aft entry panel light returned. Directed by the Captain; I requested a level-off at 12;000 ft. and performed the entry door QRC procedure. Directed by the checklist; we called the aft FA (Flight Attendant) and asked if the door handle was fully closed. She stated that she had to push the door handle back to the fully closed position 3 times and that it kept trying to come open. Due to this; we determined that the aft entry door was not operating correctly. The Captain asked me to advise ATC and request a return to ZZZ following a few delay vectors in order to burn excess fuel in order to avoid an overweight landing. We notified Dispatch via ACARS and they subsequently notified all other company representatives. An uneventful landing to Runway XX occurred. During the taxi in; the Flight Attendant called to inform us that the main cabin door handle was also not in the fully closed position and that she had been checking it continuously since takeoff. No indications were visible to the pilots. Maintenance met the aircraft at the gate and determined that the aft entry door was indeed inoperative and removed the aircraft from service.Of note; the aft FA jumpseat was MEL. During the debrief with the crew we found out that the FA had to remove her seatbelt and cross the aft galley in order to speak on the interphone and to access the door. Due to the nature of the situation we feel that this placed the FA in danger had the door opened while she was unsecured.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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